Stargate Forces: Destiny
by Arthur Hansen
Summary: What if the Stargate had laid in wait under Cheyenne Mountain until after the First Valentine War had ended?  Reposting her from Spacebattles creative writing forum .
1. Chapter 1

_In a forgotten store room under NORAD, a large crate was moved to sit in the middle of a massive ring and platform. Dust and tarps covered everything. No one even noticed when the Stargate tried to activate, but the crate 'buried' it, not allowing the wormhole to form._

_As far as the system lords ever knew, the Stargate on Earth had remained buried, notwithstanding the death of Ra by the 'Tauri'. Fortunes had changed, but the System Lords had continued to rule without the reverberations of the Tauri in other realities._

_At least for a while_.

Colonel Sammie O'Neill was taking stock of old United States Army supplies. The Atlantic Federation was reassessing all pre-war bases and stockpiles after their mutual defeat at the end of the Valentine War. So here she was digging around for some place to build a new base with the minimum amount of fuss. She doubted that Cheyenne mountain would be picked. Greenland was close enough to build up, but far enough away to sacrifice if needed.

The colonel's hair was quite dark (and not from the use of hair dye, like some of the women under her command thought.) Her body was hard and lean, and unfortunately showing little of the female's endowments because of her rigorous lifestyle.

She stopped as she shown her flashlight around, taking in a large tarp-covered arch. That jogged a memory. "Let's check this out."

Her crew quickly had the tarp removed. She touched the warm metal, whistling. This had been something from one of her great-uncle's papers that she had thought was just the ramblings of a man that had done too many missions behind the lines. But the description was too exact.

Could this be the Stargate? "Millers! I want all the paperwork on these items on my desk in an hour."

It was very interesting reading.

On a sandy world, the Stargate started to rumble to life in its ancient ruins, locking in its chevron. The sullen human guard frowned. It was months early for the great Apophis to send his Jaffa to verify that his slaves on this desolate world still remembered him.

Idly, he wondered why it was doing different symbols than he remembered. With a kawoosh, the wormhole stabilized. Mere moments later, a wheeled _thing_ came out, moving a head-like thing around as if looking or searching.

And it started speaking English. "Greetings!"

"Tauri! Mica! Mica!" the guard yelled out, running for the old scholar. He was soon back with the pale man descended of the Tauri that stayed on Abydos.

"Greetings!"

"Greetings, Tauri-thing," Mica replied. "I am Mica, son of Jando, son of Daniel."

"Nice to be able to speak to you, sir. So this is Abydos? We are sending people through."

Mica nodded eagerly as men in military garb. It had changed since the last time. The Tauri were so inventive.

A woman stood up to him and saluted. "So everything here has been quiet since Ra was blown up?" she asked with a smile.

"Ra was a lax master, only visiting us every few decades. Apophis is much worse, sending his Jaffa every year to make us work in the mines," Mica said slowly, shaking his head. The mines were horrible.

"I thought Ra was last of the Goa'uld?" she said, causing a small panic to overtake her.

"It appears he lied, to control us. If he was the only god, then we could only worship him." Mica frowned at that. Why were the Tauri now mentioning this?

Colonel O'Neill nodded to him, picking up her headphone bug. "We have a bad contact. Possible incursion. We will dial back in an hour with more information." She nodded at the response, then the Stargate deactivated.

"I have so much to show the Tauri. My grandfather found a cave, proclaiming it was the biggest mistake he ever made."

O'Neill looked over at her comrades, then nodded. "Why don't you show us."

It was a day later back in Cheyenne mountain in a temporary conference room that Colonel Sammie O'Neill make her presentation.

"Danial Jackson found a room with thousands of Gate Addresses and postulated that if he could calculate the drift of stars, he could open gates across the galaxy." Colonel O'Neill was in her dress whites of the Atlantic Federation.

"So we don't have access to one more planet, we have access to _hundreds of planets?_" General Stafford could not hide his glee.

"And dozens of Goa'ulds with interstellar spaceships. Gravity and hyperspace technology that we haven't cracked." O'Neill looked cautious.

"But we are far more advanced now. I think I would like you to work up an operation plan to exploit the Stargate to scavenge resources and advanced technology. First thing I want to know is why those aliens are so interested in that dustball." Stafford smirked.

"Yes, sir." She snapped a salute and headed to her 'office.' It looked like this would be a far more permanent assignment, rather than a quick in and out for a month.

General Stafford picked up a wall phone. Good, they had started rehooking up connections. "Get me the Vice-minister of Technological Developments. Yes, I'll hold. Tell him its urgent."

The general moved to the side as soldiers from the Engineering Brigade started to set up shop. This whole base would have to be massively upgraded. Though not with huge war machines.

Slightly smaller ones that would fit through a twenty foot ring.

Only three months later, the Stargate again activated, though this time it was well expected. Out strode the Goa'uld Kabechet, a nervous looking human guarded by twenty Jaffa.

"No guards? I see we will have to put down another rebellion. Damn Jackson and his interference," the Goa'uld snarled. He ordered the Jaffa to scour the lands to find the insolent slaves.

What they found was a mine that had been cleared out, obviously by heavy machinery but no slaves. None at all.

And that did not make sense. The slaves had no place they could escape to, did they? They spent over a week, trying to track down the slaves or find out where they went.

Kabechet was _not_ looking forward to telling Apophis that one of his minor mines of Naquadah had been cleared out completely.

He never saw the microdot camera watching him nor recording the particular symbols he used to traverse to Chulak.

A day later, the Stargate activated again and the hidden transmitters happily fed all of the information back to the Stargate Force headquarters on Earth.

Chulak was a beautiful planet, but the first place that the Atlantic Federation knew where its enemies resided and was the first cautious incursion of the Atlantic Federation's Stargate Force. Their commandos were led by the experienced veteran Colonel Sammie O'Neill. They immediately drifted into the woods, setting up temporary camouflaged tents and a surveillance post.

Sammie, personally, was treating the Goa'uld as if they could do anything that they could wanted. So they were almost silent under communication silence.

Captain Diana Hills saluted. "Ma'am? The VTOLs have reported back and there's a very low tech city just down the road. Don't these idiots know anything about operational security?"

"The Stargate being out here in the open? No, I don't think they realize how cumbersome it is. Sent out some spiders to listen in on the city."

Three hours later, they had little that they could decipher due to the culture and language.

Hills looked at her. "Are you going to bring him in?"

"I don't want to, but I don't think we really have a choice. Dial up Earth and ask to have Mr. Jackson sent through." Sammie had not wanted to bring the civilian from Abydos in, but he really was quite knowledgeable on Goa'uld customs and culture.

He was brought into the command tent when guards reported a Jaffa walking up to the perimeter of their hidden camp.

"Ho, the camp. I wish to speak to those that invade our lands," the sturdy man with the symbol of Apophis on his forehead.

"Drop the weapon and stand forward."

"I will not, but promise to only defend myself," he countered.

Sammie stepped out of the tent. "That will be enough. He's only one man. Come up, Jaffa."

He inclined his head slightly. "Whom are you people?"

"Visitors that are worried about the Goa'uld and what they would do if they discovered us. We have had limited contact in the recent past with your _gods_." Her sarcasm was understated.

"They will take you and your world, crush it beneath their feet and scatter your forces. They are unstoppable," he explained.

"Untrue. We have records that they were driven from our world, thousands of years ago. And our world is also far away by hyperspace."

"If that is true, do you believe that you will be capable of fighting them on their terms?" the Jaffa asked, hope leaking into his words.

"No. We'll fight them on _our_ terms." The colonel's grin was vicious. "We don't do things half-assed."

"My father, who was killed when he was suspected of treachery most foul, once told me that I would know the truth of those that will depose the Goa'uld. You are one of those. I am Rya'c, son of Teal'c. Let me join you in the fight against the Goa'uld."

Mico Jackson frowned from behind the tent. This could either be their luckiest break or their worst disaster.

It had been a tense few months for the great Goa'uld Apophis. One of the major system lords that arose after the mysterious death of Ra, he and the other system lords had been waging a slow war of movement.

Then something had to start happening on Chulak. He personally suspected the accursed Tokra, damn their lost queen. But they had been very weak and circumspect, as they grew older. So this was unusual for their modus operandum.

He came by Stargate after many troops had signaled that the gateway was secured. Looking about the lush forest of one of his major agricultural worlds, he nodded as he saw that it was all good.

"My lord! I believe we are watched," his First Prime called out as the gate closed with a snap, the watery surface of the wormhole disappearing.

Apophis sneered, but activated his forcefield just on the off chance that this was an assassination attempt by one of the other System Lords or the Tokra. So when the thirty Mark 15 Claymores went off and shredded his Jaffa, he was stunned.

"All right, Benson. Take the shot," Sammie called out.

The linear cannons had been retrofitted to a smaller tracked vehicle. While Benson was a veteran of the Valentine War and a crack shot in a Linear Tank, this was not quite the same thing.

The single round thundered with a crack and the only thing that saved Apophis was that the faster you attacked it, the stronger his personal forcefield was. But even it had limits as the unit started smoking and overheating.

Reacting as quickly as he ever had, Apophis leaped at the chappai, hitting the buttons to activate the Stargate again. He would not know it, but that save his life, as Sammie was unwilling to hit their only way of getting home. She swore to herself that she was going to light a fire under R&D's asses to build a temporary replacement that Earth or Pax Atlantica could send.

Before her troops could even get within one hundred feet, Apophis was through the gate and to his stronghold.

"Damn it all to fuck. We should have had him," she shouted.

Apophis was already planning his return at the head of a thousand Jaffa. When he returned later then next day, though, all he found was an abandoned camp and the Stargate that had been dialed to many random addresses.

He would later wonder why anyone powerful enough to attack him with such weapons would bother to steal transport rings, an anti-gravity and hyper-drive generator from his Alkeesh that he kept here on this world.

Strange.

P5X-4Y3 was yet another fairly boring planet, but it had been discovered to have a Naquadah mine, so the Stargate Forces were being deployed. In force, so to speak.

Deep under the massively upgraded and expanded NORAD base, now renamed BULWARK 1, the Stargate rumbled to life as robotic arms of massive size readied large machines to deploy through the gate.

Inside the first machine, Captain Diana Hills was really wondering if this was a good idea. With a shriek of sparks, her modified Strike Dagger was shot through the wormhole head first. It flew over the Dial Address Device and then skidded to left. Dagger 2 skidded to the right. The two Daggers shifted their arms from above their heads as their hips flexed loose from the gate travel. Then the two units sat up like mighty giants slowly. Fifteen special forces came through the gate, wearing low light gear and light armor.

Colonel Sammie O'Neill made a couple hand gestures. It appears they had not been spotted yet. "Move out." Behind them, tubular hover trucks started to emerge from the Stargate.

They made fast time to the village that was being guarded by ten Jaffa. The Jaffa's first sign of trouble was when camouflaged soldiers appeared around their sentries, pointing very effective looking devices at them.

"You can die here or be our prisoners," the grim faced woman explained in a deadly voice.

"You expect us to just stay here for the great god Svarog to release us?" The leader of the Jaffa looked very scared and upset.

Rya'c shook his head. "Perhaps the villagers will free you so that you may attempt to escape through the Stargate.

Their dubious look showed their disbelief that they would be released.

"Guess you should have treated them better at one point." Mica was dressed like the rest of the soldiers, but only had a single weapon.

"Situation is secure. Send the transports through. Move the prisoners into the some barracks so they don't see more than they already have." Sammie's voice was crisp and clear.

The leader of the enemy Jaffa smiled as he was led away. This may not have been the attack that Lord Svarog was expecting, but these insolent humans would learn a hard lesson and then suffer on his prison planets.

That was when the phased array radar picked up three bogeys dropping from orbit.

Diana whistled at that. Nice speeds. "SGF1, inbound bogies five minutes out from orbit," she informed her commander over the radio link even as the remote dialer (nothing more than a robot that sat on the Dial Address Device) dialed back to Earth. "Requesting the Impulse Engine Striker for anti-fighter interdiction. We've got Goa'uld fighters incoming."

"Incoming, retreat to the tree line. Drop flares and smoke." Sammie led them quickly to the trees as she followed her own orders. The rustic village was quickly shrouded in smoke.

The Jaffa pilots were surprised at the response, though the lurid red symbols of enemies on the ground beckoned to them. They were lining up on tubular hover vehicles on the road when they were attacked.

Green beams flashed out from near the Stargate, burning the first Death Glider from the air. Who ever was down there was dangerous and very armed. But ground support of this magnitude had not been expected.

"Ambush! Jaffa to the south!" Lt. Mitchs called out, ducking behind trees.

The rest of SGF1 and SGF5 laid down a withering fire of P155 armor piercing slugs into the hapless Jaffa while ducking behind whatever cover had been available.

"Lord Svarog, there appear to be heavy reinforcements. This does not appear to be any Jaffa. The weapons are unfamiliar, but very effective."

That was when Dagger-1 rocketed upwards, the robotic waldo having made record time traversing the Stargate and attaching the Striker to her back. She couldn't wait for the gate-specific GAT-X Raider II that was already in design.

The two remaining Death Gliders were shocked at the sight of the huge, human-like war machine that started firing its beam rifle. "By Ra! What is that thing?"

That was the last thing he ever said as Diana unlimbered her beam saber cut the Glider in half from nose to stern.

"A metal giant that flies! Why won't it die!" the last pilot screamed, even as his plasma bolts where taken on the Dagger's shield.

Three more beams (from below and in front) took out the last Death Glider.

Svarog fumed in the palatial comfort of his Ha'tak. "Bring us in and destroy the interlopers. Launch all remaining gliders!"

"As you order, my lord!" his First Prime responded.

More Death Gliders were launched even as the huge pyramid broke orbit over the horizon. They started firing at long range as the two mobilesuits starting firing back.

O'Neill huffed and puffed. This was looking like a totally messed up situation. She tapped her earbud. "SGF1 requesting heavy fire support. Shit, that's a mothership. Requesting nuclear weapons."

"This is General Stafford, request granted. Clear the gate entrance," her radio squawked.

Through the still open Stargate, a mass of metal armatures slid, almost twenty feet long. It split along its center and grabbed the Stargate with robotic claws. It suddenly spun the Stargate around like the barrel of a weapon. Out of the stargate roared heavy ballistic missiles in rapid fire.

The crew of the Ha'tak were well trained (for Jaffa) and saw the missiles the moment they appeared. Even so, they only managed to shoot down six of the twenty missiles as they hove over low orbit. Heavy nuclear bombs exploded, rocking the ship and lighting up the air.

"Retreat for now." Svarog frowned. He knew of no one that used the Stargate in such a manner. How very strange.

A second phalanx of missile rocketed out, evading almost all the frantic counter-fire from the mothership. Overloaded shields gave out as the last missiles struck with Naqdiah enhanced power. Even so, the massive ship was not fully disabled even under that onslaught.

"Dagger-1 to BULWARK 1. Shields are down," Diana crowed, even as her beam rifle speared another Death Glider.

"Deploying Heavy Gottfrieds 1 and 2," the radio squawked back.

Deadly green energy beams lashed out through the Stargate to burn into the side of the listing Hatak. Sammie stopped, narrowing her eyes. "That's mothership is actually going down about thirty clicks away."

That was what General Stafford was considering. "Immediately counter-attack. Reinforcements will be deployed ASAP."

"You heard the old man," Sammie shouted. "Form up and then flank these idiots. Diana, take out those fighters and cover the Stargate until the reinforcements are deployed."

"Old lady doesn't ask for much. This really sucks," the captain complained. The Strike Dagger lifted its shield to block a plasma bolt, deflecting the shots as it rocketed sideways. It was when it raised its rifle that something went wrong and the arm failed to lift above the shoulder. "Crap. The linkage has slipped and my weapon arm is not working. I told them we should have done more thorough testing."

Through the Stargate rocketed two more mobilesuits that quickly stood up, laying down their own fire into the air. Robotic loaders came through, attaching striker packs for flight. Then linear mini-tanks came through the gate, followed by about fifty troops.

They all spread out and started moving to the crashed spaceship in the distance.

In the crashed Ha'tak, Svarog's form was dragged from the control room by his First Prime. The crazy angles and smoke made it seem like a hell on Earth. The loyal warrior took the dead form of his God to the secret compartment where a sarcophagus still stood. He slid the broken form in there and waited. His god would soon awaken.

Outside, the Stargate Forces were pressing on very quickly, overruning the Jaffa who were just not used to such fighting. The small squad tactic was quite disorienting as the camouflaged soldiers of the Atlantic Federation moved with skill and deadly precision, cutting the Jaffa warriors from their support.

Up above, another Death Glider exploded, followed shortly by a Strike Dagger that failed to block an attack. Diana grinned as she suddenly rocketed straight up, firing down with her lamed weapon-arm and hitting the last enemy fighter, sending it down trailing smoke before it plowed into the dirt.

The three remaining Strike Dagger immediately started moving towards the down mothership at ground-eating speeds. That totally shattered whatever morale the Jaffa had before. They faced not mortals, but inhuman monsters that could summon the very demons of the hells to aid them.

Rya'c saw that in their movement, yelling out for them to surrender. "Lay down your arms and you will be spared! Resist and we will slay all of you."

Sammie gave him a frown, but let it go. She turned to see the Jaffa throwing down their staves left and right. "SG5, gather the prisoners to be moved to Pax Atlantica. The rest of you, secure that mothership. Move it! Move it!" she yelled, leading the rest of the troops towards the still distant ship.

Svarog awoke feeling the disorientation of the healing and with a burning desire to flay the flesh off his foes. Smoke filled his lungs as he opened the sarcophagus opened. Coughing, he desired nothing more to find one of the invaders.

Out in the hallways, he found dead Jaffa cooling in the pools of their tacky blood. He stalked like a tiger on the hunt. Soon he found the first soldier, wearing a uniform that he found very utilitarian. The weapons were primitive slug throwers instead of proper plasma weapons.

Though they must have some advanced weapons, as they managed to defeat his Ha'tak. Those great giant robots would be terrifying against his enemies. But first, escape.

"This is amazing. I had no idea the Tauri had advanced so much in only two generations," Mica said as he followed Sammie O'Niel around the corner. Two soldiers were following the colonel with weapons at the ready.

"Well, we are getting a big leg up thanks to some of the things we found. Howards, hows the AICM working at decoding things?" she called out.

A soldier nodded at the box he had plugged in. "He's working as fast as he can, but he's limited being man-portable." The Artificial Intelligence Combat Module was developed for battlefield extractions and a true workhorse super-computer. It was only forty pounds of dead weight.

"Good work. Let him know, too. We need to be evacuated in another two days. This day's been too long already," Sammie replied.

"Yes, sir!"

Rya'c nodded. "So these 'compooters' are of your own design? And are smart enough to be considered alive?"

"Sentient, yes. We try to treat them right, because we are treading murky waters ethically," Sammie replied.

Svarog frowned as he went over what he'd heard. Tauri? Here on this planet and with such technologies? Where had they stolen their original technology? None of the other space faring races used such devices.

He disappeared deeper into the shattered mothership. He would hide in areas that no humans would dare, where the radiation was lethal. The Goa'uld would not care if he had to replace the human he was wearing.


	2. Chapter 2

It was a month later and Sammie was in a strange place for her. She was standing under one-half Earth gravity on a 300 meter Agamemnon-class warship in high Earth orbit. _The Prometheus_; testbed of the Atlantic Federation's Stargate Force. "So the gravity generators work pretty good?"

Captain Merriweather nodded. "That's correct. And the first test shields. I'll be happy that we can let the magnetic accelerators lapse. Always hated using them. Antigravity is so much better."

"They are working on an advanced Striker Pack for the Daggers and Windhams that will use those."

"Larusia-class cruiser off our bow," the sensor operator called out.

The crew became tense as the coordinator-crewed ship appeared as a lurid-red icon on the display.

"Don't provoke any reaction. Deactivate all new systems before they reach sensor thresholds," Merriweather called out with a grand arm gesture.

"They've got new mobilesuits." New icons appeared.

"Confirmed ZAFT ZAKU taking up defensive positions. Laser communication opening now."

"This is Captain Morris of the _Arlington_. I understand this is the new test ship for the Atlantic Federation?" the supercilious voice on the other end asked in far too smug a voice.

"I'm afraid I can not confirm nor deny that information, _Arlington_." Captain Merriweather looked ready to chew nails and spit out armor plating.

"Understood, _Prometheus,_" the voice replied. "Over and out."

Sammie winced as she saw the muscles tense on Merriweather's neck. "So we've got a leak in the shipyards, it seems." Her voice was remarkably calm.

"Oh?"

"Well, I can't see ZAFT and the PLANTs not raising a stink if they knew about BULWARK 1 and the gate," she replied simply.

"Point." Merriweather considered it for a good five minutes as the ZAFT ship slowly pulled away while doing some 'training exercises'.

The mission was a success... for both sides, much to their vexation.

Lord Djibril was almost screaming in frustration. "What do you mean my funding for the Gundam Destroys was denied? How are we going to destroy those damn hourglasses?" he shouted at the monitor in front of him that was showing the face of his contact within the White House.

"President Copland says that the Atlantic Federation has more important matters than starting an arms race. Sir?" his aide suddenly interjected. "Something isn't making sense. The Parliament and Congress both increased funding, even above what we were wanting. It's like they are preparing for war with the PLANTs... but don't want our extremism help for some reason."

"It isn't extremism, Paul. It's merely the only thing that humanity can do. But this change in stance against the PLANTs is worrying. See what you can do to ferret out where that money is going to."

"I can already tell you that it is being funneled into BULWARK 1 and the 1st Fleet, sir. I thought BULWARK 1 was a secondary site, but they've pumped more money into it than there we asked for Greenland's Heavens Base."

"More money without involving LOGOS? Thank you Paul, you've given me quite a bit of thinking to do." The effeminate leader of Blue Cosmos and LOGOS picked up his pampered Persian cat and sat in his plush leather seat in the middle of all of the deactivated screens. "What are you up to, President Copland?"

A chime sounded, signaling another incoming call.

A masked figure appeared on the screen. "Lord Djibril, the plans for stealing the advanced ZAFT units from Armory-1 are proceeding."

"Good. One way or the other, we'll destroy all Coordinators and cleanse the Earth."

Sammie O'Neill sighed as she slotted herself into a seat on the tube that can hold up to a hundred people. Scientists, engineers and soldiers filled up with her. Everyone latched themselves down.

Out in the middle of the huge cavern, the Stargate was moved in front of a train built like an old style subway on rails. The stargate dialed and the event horizon stabilized. With a cha-chunk of electric switches connecting, the mag-lift train moved forward. Two minutes later, the fifty car train was slowing down in the outdoors of a grass plain on another set of tracks.

A sergeant started yelling out orders as everyone sorted themselves out. Heavy loaders started to move supplies from the cargo cars. Hundreds of tons of supplies and building materials.

Sammie shaded her eyes as she looked over the artificial city that was growing here and the roads that led to where BULWARK II was being carved into the side of a mountain about twenty miles away. It was built like many larger army bases. Boxlike buildings, fences and men running around getting into shape. She walked over to the garage where electric DUVs were located.

"Colonel!" Diana shouted, waving her hand above her head. "I heard they have housing on base finally setup. I've got an apartment in C Block."

Sammie nodded. "I got my off base housing finished. Paid for the fabrication of my cabin and place was completed yesterday."

"Lucky devil. I'd heard they were offering reduced wages for plots of land on Pax Atlantica." The mobilesuit pilot grinned wildly. "I love Pax Atlantica because of the live fire ranges for mobilesuit practice!"

Sammie just rolled her eyes at the pilot. "So you're going to spend your leave blowing stuff up in a Strike Dagger?"

"Only to get myself revved up." Diana was giving a couple of soldiers a hungry look. "Then I'll be hitting the bar. You should join us today. I heard you were MS certified."

The dark-haired colonel was giving it some serious thought. "Sure. We'll call it an exercise in building the team up. Is Rya'c and Mica around?"

"Mica's up at the offices where he's reading everything he can on the different cultures of Earth. He seems to think that there's an awful lot that is applicable to Goa'uld hunting." The younger officer shrugged. "Rya'c? He's probably in the Gym teaching some grunts some humility."

"Let's go grab him and Mica then."

The two members of SGF-1 headed over to one of the large buildings. It was a barracks and gym all in one. They found the middle-aged looking Jaffa busy taking on three ground pounders.

"SammieO'Neill. DianaHill. Have you come to practice?" the stocky Jaffa asked.

"Diana wanted to see if you and Mica were up for a bit of live fire practice in Strike Daggers," Sammie informed.

"Then perhaps we will spar tomorrow?" the Jaffa asked.

"Sure. We can do a barbecue at my place and then practice out back," she replied.

"As long as you aren't left near the meat, colonel," Diana said.

They picked up the older Mica and then headed out to the range.

Sammie was familiarizing herself with the Strike Dagger's controls. While she had gone through the training, the colonel had never been assigned to the unit during the war. She had been part of the commandos for the most part.

Diana, on the other hand, was a Mobile Suit pilot with fighter training. Her Strike Dagger (with the Striker Pack refit) was easily loping along.

The Stargate Force version of the Dagger had an extra seat for a co-pilot, where Rya'c and Mica were wondering why they had been dragged into this.

"SammieO'Neill, are you sure this is proper procedure?" Rya'c asked in a monotone voice.

"This is training and venting," she explained.

"Venting? I see no gasses."

"Emotional venting, Rya'c," Sammie replied. She shoved the two joysticks forward, dodging the paint-pellets of Diana's unit.

"DianaHill does not seem to be one to control her emotions greatly."

Sammie chuckled. "That is true."

The Strike Dagger raised its rifle up, firing a row of pellets at the other unit.

Mica was struggling to understand the little screen he was assigned here. "Doesn't that mean incoming?"

"Say what?" Diana yelled out, glancing at her 3D radar.

That was when three more Strike Daggers appeared. The catcall from Harvey Bird of SGF-8 was broadcasted loud and clear.

"Great, an ambush." Sammie ducked under the barrage. "And they'll crow for weeks if they bag us."

"I do not understand why we be put into a container, Sammie O'Neill," the Jaffa said, holding back a grin.

"Now that's just being mean, Rya'c. I already explained that phrase. Okay, Diana, let's retreat to that ridge. Just before we hit it, I want a dogleg and into that box canyon," Sammie ordered.

"Ah, yes. We are going to lure them into a trap," Mica saw as he replied.

"No, we're going to get ourselves trapped if we aren't careful," Diana said as she sent her Strike Dagger rocketing after Sammie's.

The abrupt change shocked the second group of Strike Daggers that had SGF-15 in it.

"How'd she know we were here?" Christina complained.

"Never mind that. After them!" Major Lewis Harold ordered, leading his trio of mobilesuits after SGF-1.

"Go right!" Sammie ordered, rocketing upwards and to the left after turning a corner in the box canyon. Both Strike Daggers leaped to the edge, spinning around to bracket the corner they had just left below them.

It was a massacre, as both teams fumbled their safe distance between units. Only Harold managed to make the lip and got a size 200 foot to his Dagger's head for his efforts. He landed with a thud on his Dagger's back before Sammie stitched him up with paint-pellets.

It was an hour later that they were all in the officer's club. "Fess up, Sammie. How'd you know about the second part of the ambush?" Bird asked in good natured frustration. They all had beers in their hands.

"I saw those two yokels talking to the roster officer while pointing at two Daggers. Whenever they are together, I know your two teams are planning something. I thought you would figured that after the last two times you failed one of your tricks," the senior officer said with a smirk.

Larry and Mitch winced. They had thought they were being subtle. Obviously not enough.

Mica smiled at that. "It's very interesting how quickly they both reacted."

"That's because Sammie is over-trained. I heard she's killed a lot of ZAFT commandos. She's one dangerous lady." Harold nodded and clinked a bottle with said officer.

"Just doing my job." Sammie did not look thrilled with that thought. Her dark eyes had a haunted look.

"ZAFT is the military part of the orbital colonies, right?" Mica asked. "The genetically modified human of this world."

"Yeah, we just had a war," Diana said, frowning. A war that basically ended in stalemate thanks to the Three Ship Alliance. She had lost her first Dagger there and nearly her life when that Justice had taken her down.

"The Jaffa are also genetically modified to be stronger than normal. Among other things." Rya'c looked perturbed that the Tauri would do that to themselves.

"We're not too thrilled with that ourselves. But... since we found out about the Goa'uld, they suddenly seem like a minor issue." She grinned over at Major Bird. "Sorry, Bird, but you know its true."

"Yeah, evil space-aliens beat stupid genetic idiots out any day." Bird looked disturbed to admit that. He had not been shy in admitting that Blue Cosmos had a lot of right ideas.

"Yeah, as those Blue Cosmos idiots are trying to push us into another war," Diana complained. "They've been pushing to move all of our funding to that Heaven's Base of theirs in Greenland."

"Can your leaders not tell them no?" Mica asked.

"Our government... is complicated. And the threat of ZAFT isn't gone, though we are technically in a ceasefire. So we still have to prepare if hostilities break out."

None of them looked thrilled at that. Both sides were still rattling their sabers.

The theft of the new generation of ZAFT mobilesuits had finally completed and the _Girty Lue_ had escaped, for the moment, the new ZAFT battleship _Minerva._ Roanoke had wanted to destroy it and the other combiner mobilesuit based on the Strike, obviously.

That was when the word came that Junius-7 had moved from its orbit.

"Will we be moving to assist?" Captain Ian Lee asked.

"Of course-" _Not, _the masked leader of Phantom Pain started to say, when a transmission was received across all channels.

"This is the _Prometheus_, we will handle the destruction of Junius-7. Please keep at least 250 kilometers at all time," Captain Merriweather ordered across the airwaves. "Helm, full thrust."

"The _Prometheus_? Aren't they all the way out by the Moon?" Ades asked.

"This doppler doesn't make sense, sir. We are showing a frankly impossible acceleration curve. They'll be at Junius-7 in ten minutes... from the far side of the Moon," the sensor operator called out.

Roanoke and Lee shared a shocked expression. That was impossible with any known propulsion system they knew of.

"N-Jammer effect detected. We won't be able to use any nukes," the _Prometheus's_ XO called out.

The modified Agamemnon-class warship moved into near orbit at uncommon speed, hours before even the nearest ZAFT cruisers could respond.

"Sensors are picking up GINNs on the surface. They are starting to move."

"Raise shields!" Merriweather called out. He frowned as beams spattered on the energy bubble, starting to drop its power, again showing that it was not nearly as effective as it should have been. "Full positron flow to into Buster-1."

Deep in the bowels of the cruiser, an over sized missile starting to accept its payload of antimatter particles.

"Shields are down to fifty percent."

"Status of Buster-1?" Merriweather asked.

"Seventy percent."

"That will have to do. Fire Buster-1 immediately, divert all power to shields. Port thirty degrees, main thrust to full."

The rebel coordinators were confused at the attack. No nuclear missile could function. Even so, their instinctive reaction was to shoot it down.

One of them succeeded just before the missile hit, unleashing the Naquadah enhanced antimatter explosive. Junius-7 did not break. It did not shatter into dozen of pieces.

It exploded into bits. The coordinator pilots of the GINNs died before the shockwave could hit, killed by the super-intense burst of gamma and cosmic rays, but before their mobilesuits were shredded by the rapidly dissipating attack.

A second sun flashed, causing accidents across the world and several plane crashes. But the only affect of the actual meteor was minimal as pebbles and rocks burned up in the atmosphere.

_The Prometheus_ shuddered, almost making it far enough away before the shockwave hit. Its weakened shields held for on the most minute of moments before collapsing. Then the armor on the outside of the ship boiled, blistered and shattered. Its high impulse engines stuttered and went out, but not in sequence.

The battered battleship was sent spinning through the firmament, causing many of the crew to lose their breakfast of only an hour ago.

"Fitz, remark into the log that the Buster-1 test was a success," Merriweather called out. "It looks like we finally figured out a way to make an antimatter missile work. Though we might suggest a little less Naquadah next time." OMNI had been experimenting with antimatter for a while, but the containment in missiles was too dangerous. Who wanted nuclear power at ten times the danger to yourself?

His XO just started chuckling. "You might be right, Captain. Damage report! All crew, seal the ship or evacuate the areas we can't seal! Move it people!"

"Sir! We are being hailed by a ZAFT cruiser," the sensor operator called out. "They are moving to assist us."

"Prepare to abandon ship upon my orders if needed. Fitz, go make sure the self-destruct on the main generator is still working," Merriweather said coldly. No way in hell were those Coordinators getting his ship and its advanced technology.

"There is no doubt, sir. That was some sort of enhanced antimatter explosion," Meryn Hawke called out to Captain Gladys.

"Thank you, Meryn. Chairman Durandal?" Gladys asked from her command chair of the _Minerva._

Durandal sat in silent, though furiously fast, thought. "Well, that's one way around the treaty," he finally said blandly. "I guess technically they aren't using nuclear weapons when they are throwing around the upgraded replacement technology." He would have to put his own scientists on it as fast as possible. Or some sort of counter.

Cagalli Yula Athha gulped silently. Those damn warmongers. They were spitting on the very memory of all those that died in the first war. "How dare they!" she suddenly shouted as she stood up from the seat that the chairman had invited her to stay in.

"Cagalli," Athrun Zala warned, putting his hand on her forearm. "They only killed people that were trying to murder billions."

"But the fact that OMNI now has this technology... is worrying, don't you think, Athrun Zala? Why do you need a Genesis, when you have _that?"_ Durandal only let his smile slip slightly. He had Zala's son. He just did not know it yet.

"I need to get back to Orb immediately, Chairman. If I could leave the matters up to your captain? I'm sure _Kusanagi_ will be more than happy to divert to pick us up," the young lion of Orb asked.

"Of course."

The rest of the crew looked around, sharing worried looks. That had been Athrun Zala with the Athha? What was up with that?

Yzaak smirked as his Nazca class cruiser _Voltaire_ and _Rousseau_ approached the crippled Earth Alliance ship.

"This is Captain Merriweather of the _Prometheus_. I will repeat once more that we need no assistance at this time. This ship is under the aegis of the Earth Alliance and we would ask that you keep your distance," his radio was speaking.

"Oh, dry up you idiot. Anyone can see that you need all the help you can get," the red-jacketed commander declared.

His green-jacketed friend just rolled his eyes. "They know we want a peek at their new technology, Yzaak." Dearka Elsman had to smirk. He knew his friend too well. He was too hot-headed to back down now.

"Then I have no choice then to warn you off. If you approach within fifty kilometers, I will activate this ship's self-destruct. It is as powerful as the missile we used to destroy Junius-7," came the reply.

_That_ gave him a pause. "You would kill yourself to stop us from helping you?" the silver-haired coordinator shouted, smacking his fist on the back of the captain's chair.

"I will not allow any advanced technology from the _Prometheus_ from being compromised in any shape or form."

Yzaak signaled to cut the channel. "Captain, how long until we get within 50 kilometers?"

"Only two more minutes." The captain of the _Voltaire_ did not look happy at all.

"Signal the _Rousseau_ to break off and stay outside that distance." The very young commander was thinking furiously. "Helm, prepare for an immediate change of course at the sign of any energy buildup. I want the engines of this ship pointed at them in a split second." Something only a truly excellent Coordinator pilot could even attempt.

"I'm detecting some odd pulses, sir. But not a build up- Wait, that reactor is suddenly going crazy-" the sensor operator.

Martinez was already spinning the ship frantically.

To say that the _Prometheus_ blew up was a bit of an understatement. Luckily for Yzaak, Merriweather had been bluffing. It was only a quarter as powerful as the Buster-1 had been. Still, it crippled the _Voltaire _and damaged the _Rousseau_.

"Shit. They did it. They blew themselves up rather than let us see their technology," Dearka exclaimed as he pulled himself upright in the sudden zero-G environment.

The captain of the Voltaire winced. "I would have hated to face that ship in combat, sir. Their powerplant has to be at least twice as efficient as our own."

"How the hell did the Naturals do that again?" Yzaak shouted.

"Sir?"

Dearka nodded. "The same thing that happened at Heliopolis. New super-technology. We were damn lucky we stole those Gundams. ZAFT would have been massacred if we hadn't and they had gotten to full production."

Prime Minister Arden Mueller was looking at his Minister of Defense with a scowl. "What the hell happened to the snatch and grab?"

Mark Demps was fighting the urge to wipe his brow. "81st Autonomous Mobile Group is autonomous per your predecessor's decree."

"There is a reason his government fell at the end of the War." Arden frowned as he stared out at Denver's first snow of the year. "I've got Copland on my hind like a bad sore. He's beyond pissed that Phantom Pain is aggressively trying to start a war."

"Considering it was an Atlantic Federation battleship that was lost due to ZAFT's actions, I'm really surprised at that." Demps was thinking fast and furiously.

"Well, we can still put the PLANTs in the nutcracker for trying to board an Atlantic Federation ship." He was already crafting his demands for the captain of that ship to be handed over for 'war crimes.' Durandal would never hand him over, of course. The perfect action to force a confrontation.

Gilbert Durandal frowned as he moved his chess piece in his private quarters. "Rey. It's good to see you. The _Minerva_ is in port at Aprilus-1?" Beside him, out in the depths of space, the hourglass-shaped colonies of the PLANTs spun in unison in neat, orderly rows.

"Yes. Captain Gladys is talking to her commander over at ZAFT headquarters." The young blonde man had just stepped into the elegantly bare room. "Chess again?"

"Of course. The actions of the Earth Alliance are... different than I expected. Prime Minister Arden Mueller is having to move more publicly than he normally would, as President Copland of the Atlantic Federation is breaking ranks with his Blue Cosmos masters." The leader of the PLANTs frowned, his too perfect features almost marred by the look. "He's making decisions that contradict his whole personality."

"Or he has a hidden motive making him act differently," Rey noted aloud.

"Yes, but what? He hasn't changed his anti-Coordinator stance. But it's like it is less important." The chairman moved a knight to a position, trying to draw out a bishop.

"So what are you going to do?" Rey asked.

"Well, I'm not going to let them drag Commander Yzak Joule down. His mother would crucify me in the next elections," he replied as he continued to think. "Besides, most people will not believe that the secrets of the _Prometheus _were worth blowing up their own ship, crippling the _Voltaire_ and killing six Coordinators."

"If they've developed antimatter missiles of that power, I would have," Rey replied simply.

"Where did you hear that?" Durandal asked in a sudden snappish tone.

"That was from Copernicus. Their observatory happened to be looking in that direction to watch the fall of Junius-7 when it was vaporized. They are calling it an exotically amplified antimatter explosion," the red-jacketed ZAFT ace said as he sat on the couch in front of the chess game. His gaze on the game was quite intent. "Interesting. You are leaving your pawns in danger with that move."

"That's what pawns are for. To be sacrificed as needed."

Svarog looked over at the Goa'uld in front of him. "Well met, Morrigan. I understand you have been given some of Ancient Ra's holding out on the rim?" He gestured over to a gold-inlayed table covered in fine foods, their Jaffa taking position along the walls.

"That is correct, Svarog. Though why you care is beyond me," the Goa'uld within the human female replied carefully. She was of dark-red hair and severe of features in her totally black armor. Though the armor more held her host's breast up for display rather than protect them.

Svarog's own opulent, though semi-barbaric looking, clothes were a clash of furs and leathers, held together with harsh, gold chains. "I wish to ask a favor for you, if you have a Ha'tak near that world. Though it may take months, I wish you to send it to the world of the Tauri. I have recently come across information that makes me think that someone is using that world as a staging ground."

"And you are letting me know out of the kindness of your heart?" the heartless Goa'uld replied.

"Of course not. Though the fact it is not far from one of your holdings might bear you some interest. But the fact that they are developing advanced technologies that have not been seen in this galaxy... interest me," the slavic god of fire said, his dark eyes grim in pleasure.

"Ah, so I am to see if these technologies are there for the taking? And to get my nose cut off if they are too much? You will need to sweeten the deal, Svarog. Make me an offer that will convince me you wish to help against Apophis." Her blue eyes held no warmth, her gaze reptilian behind her stunning beauty.

Svarog considered it for a long moment. "Very well. Five thousand Jaffa and two Ha'taks are at your call when really needed."

"Wonderful." The blood-haired Goa'uld smirked at that.

An hour later, she was walking through the stargate to her own worlds. "Geail, inform Laighe that he is to scout the ancient homeworld of humanity carefully. Send a Tel'tak from Armathion. My Ha'tak there will divert to the Tauri homeworld."

"My lady, will that not take months to get there?"

"Then the sooner they start, the sooner they will be back to Armathion then. Obey your goddess," she snarled.

"Of course, great Morrigan."

Cagalli fumed as she stormed out of yet another meeting. The Seirans were being particularly obnoxious. Her short legs led her down the stately halls of the government house. Somehow her posh business suit made her look serious, if not quite stately.

Her 'bodyguard' Athrun was following her at what seemed a more sedate pace. "I think you need a break."

"How?" she retorted scathingly. She scrubbed her hands through her short, almost ragged blonde hair. They stepped out into the parking lot.

Athrun opened the door to her sportscar. "How about we visit your brother and Lacus?"

"I don't want to bring them down. They have all those children," she whispered as she slid onto the plush leather seat.

Athrun put his hand on her knee. "There's something more, isn't there?"

"I want what he has," she said quietly as Athrun turned on the car. "And Yuna is pushing for our engagement."

Athrun's face turned sour at that, but he tried to hide it. "Let's go."

"No. We'll invite them to the beach house that I'm loaning Father Machio. All of them. The kids deserve a small vacation from the island." She was already planning ahead. Her brother was being too moody out there in that private retreat.

The dark-haired coordinator changed lanes on the highway and then headed to the marina. "Why don't we just go pick them up with your yacht?"

"Let me give him a call then."

Djibril smirked as he sat in his plush leather executive-chair, looking over the live feeds from his fleet as it moved towards the PLANTs. "This is your final day, you freaks. No more will you taint the skies of this pure and blue world."

The Earth Alliance fleet started launching Strike Dagger L's.

"Per the orders from OMNI and the Earth Alliance, I am demanding that you stand down and disarm so that we can arrest the war criminal known as Yzak Joule," the OMNI admiral said from the safety of his bridge.

"And we have already informed you that we do not acknowledge your domain. We will not hand over the hero Joule to jack-booted thugs like you," the coordinator replied over the radio.

"Start the attack."

The OMNI fleet and Daggers headed towards the spinning hourglasses off in the distance, only to be met with GINNs and then ZAKUs.

The distraction seemed to be working perfectly, as the Agamemnon-class warship _Branston _was launching its Dark Daggers loaded with N-Jammer Canceller nuclear missiles.

Before they had closed, a recon GINN detected them. "Nuclear payload inbound! I repeat-"

One of the Daggers cut the GINN down in brutal efficiency, then fell back into position. They reached active control distance for the missiles and fired.

"No! This can't be happening!" Yzak shouted as he lead his Joule team in a desperate charge to intercept them in their new ZAKUs. Would he be known as the one that caused a second Junius-7 attack? Would his name be as heavily reviled as Rau La Creuset?

In the control room of the ZAFT command in Aprilius-1, Chairman Gilbert Durandal entered hurriedly. "The preparations are finished?"

"Yes, sir. We are receiving a report of nuclear missile attack," a ZAFT sensor operator yelled out.

"Confirm the missiles, ready the N-Jammer Canceler Stampeder!" Durandal ordered.

"Inbound ships! That speed... it's impossible!" another sensor operator shouted.

Out in space, a Drake-class escort ship suddenly intruded on the battle at high impulse speeds as orders came for it to return to fleet formation, swerving in between the missiles and the PLANTs. "Fire suppression on those missiles!" her captain yelled out. "Don't let any hit the civilians! Shields to full!" The _George Patton_ started firing at the missiles with its beam weapons.

"Firing Stampeder!" the ZAFT commander shouted in a panic at the thought that they were about to lose the Stampeder.

Out in space, near a Nazca class ZAFT cruiser, the N-Jammer Canceler Stampeder fired to catastrophic affect. The missiles and Strike Dagger exploded, killing all of the cold-blooded killers. The coruscating beam clipped the _George Patton_, sending it staggering and overloading conduits. Bodies were sent flying as the internal powerlines turned into impromptu explosives.

Captain Anne Danvers clutched grimly at her command seat. "Did we get them? Damage report!"

"Nuclear missiles were destroyed by that _thing _that the Coordinators used. Shields are offline. We only have five percent thrust," her XO called out. James Brannigan was a big, black man that was normally impeccably dressed and unflappable.

"Signal that we are retreating back to 1st Fleet. All crews work on shields first," Danvers ordered.

"We kicked up a hornet's nest, Captain."

"Not we, Lt. Brannigan. That was my order and my responsibility," she replied with a wry grin. "But I'll never allow civilians to be slaughtered mercilessly."

An Agamemnon Class carrier and its two battleships escorts were approaching rapidly at speeds that only Stargate derived technologies could have allowed.

"That's the _Bismark_. Admiral Daniels on the line for you, Captain." Brannigan winced at that.

"On the overhead." Danvers sat up a little more stiffly.

"Captain Danvers, consider yourself relieved of duty for dereliction of duty and ignoring a direct order," the admiral called out over the radio.

"Understood, sir. Lt. Brannigan, you have the con." She stood up and saluted her second in command, who received command of her beloved ship.

Cagalli stared off into the night sky as she saw a bright flare. She had just heard of the attack on the PLANTs. "Why?" she asked, her voice breaking in sorrow. "We were just are starting to recover!"

Athrun just shook his head. "I don't know." The waters of the Pacific lapped on the shore, the bright lights of the house only slightly illuminating them in the cold darkness.

"You won't leave me?" the young natural asked.

The coordinator just answered by hugging her close. The shorter woman gripped him almost too hard. Impulsively, he kissed her forehead. Her hand looped behind his neck, pulling his head down so that she could kiss him desperately.

"Stay with me... tonight," she finally said.

"Tonight?" Athrun kissed her thoroughly. "Or forever?"

"Let's see about forever." That was when the green-eyed young man scooped her up. He staggered slightly under her weight, but gamely headed up to the seaside house while kissing her frantically. A frenetic emotion that she reciprocated.

Kira and Lacus were further down the beach, watching the byplay of the two in momentary humor. The mood failed as they noticed more lights in the skies.

"Why is there so much hate, Lacus?" Kira asked as he held her close in the shadows of the palm trees on the shore.

"Fear. Humanity has always been afraid and we fear what we do not know," the ex-singer said in a sad voice. "Do you think Orb will be dragged into this war again?"

"That's what has Cagalli so upset. The Seirans are really pushing to support the Earth Alliance. And the moderates in the Eurasia Federation and Atlantic Federation are having a hard time of it," the Ultimate Coordinator said, his violet eyes narrowed in frustration.

"Will we be safe here?" she asked worriedly.

"I don't know. I hope so. Maybe I should talk to Murrue about taking preventative steps." Kira looked haunted at that thought. He did not want to fight again. But he would to defend Lacus.

"My knight will need his sword," the strawberry-blonde said, leaning into his side.

"I wish I didn't."

Colonel Sammie O'Neill looked over the hill through her digital binoculars. There was a group of Jaffa standing outside of the ruined mothership they were looking at. "Damn. What do you think, Rya'c?"

The stout Jaffa nodded. "This is unusual. Usually the Goa'uld leave their wrecks unless there was something of great import within or they can salvage the whole ship."

The sand-weathered, darkened form of Mica frowned. "And anything they value, we need to deny them?" This made him feel like a vulture, but he understood that they were in a weaker position than the Goa'uld.

"We don't dare dial in to get reinforcements until we have control of the item," Diana noted, looking through her own binoculars.

"There are only six Jaffa that we can see. There will be more inside," Rya'c warned.

"Then we can't play fair. If what they find is any size, they'll take it back the most direct means." Sammie was scanning the path. "That copse of trees-"

That was when a space ship de-cloaked over the edge of the clearing, roaring as it landed.

"Tel'tak. A Goa'uld freighter," Rya'c declared, almost showing his surprise. "It must be something that he does not want moved through the Stargate. Unusual."

"Or something that is a bit too heavy to drag the thirty kilometers to the Stargate on foot. Like that," Mica declared as he pointed where ten Jaffa were dragging a large, golden box.

Rya'c swore. "They will probably only use the Tel'tak to go to the Stargate, but as quickly as possible."

"What is it?" Sammie asked as she focused in on the large device.

"It is called a Sarcophagus. It allows the Goa'uld to raise the recently dead and heal any injuries," Rya'c explained with a _very_ grim voice. The screams of his father still echoed in his nightmares.

"Say _what?_" Sammie and Diana half-yelled quietly. The colonel was thinking furiously. "All right." She pulled out a computer pad and hit some buttons. "Time for some noise. Mica, stay back and only support us."

Near the Stargate, the Jaffa on guard were surprised when explosions rocked the forest near them and smoke started billowing out from concealed devices. They turned and readied staff weapons, eyes turned outward for enemies.

None of them noticed the small robot unhook itself from the bottom of the Dial Address Device. It rapid-fire hit the buttons, purging the address that Sammie had sent it from its memory the moment it was finished. It pulled back underneath before the Jaffa could turn around, to see the Stargate dialing out.

They started firing to try to hit invisible foes until the Stargate suddenly shut off after a minute. They looked at each other in surprise.

The the Stargate started dialing in return two minutes later.

Back at Tel'tak, Sammie was busy running forward in a crouching zig-zag. She barely stopped to fire a grenade from her under-rifle, then dove to the side while firing frantically at two Jaffa. Thank god they fought like Napoleon era soldiers, she thought to herself.

The remaining Jaffa were just starting to recover when another grenade rained down from a different directly.

"Come on, you stupid kangaroooos! It's gun-toting maniac time!" Diana shouted as she popped up behind a tree and gunned the first barely turned Jaffa down.

"Tauri! Get to the ship! Lord Svarog demands that we retrieve this for him!" The leader of the Jaffa shouted out. "Retreat to the ship-"

That was when Rya'c shot cut his legs out from under him. Even Mica had joined, using his pistol as judiciously as possible.

The pilot of the Tel'tak closed the door and was starting to take off when a fighter rocketed past, all black and dangerous looking. With a suddenly bleed-off of momentum, it turned into a black mobilesuit similar to the Dagger's of the Earth Alliance.

It's short, stubby and very deadly beam cannon was placed against the window of the freighter. Then, very carefully, it waggled its free hand (pointing-finger up) in a near universal sign language for 'no.'

"Cute," Sammie said as she cautiously stood up. "Samson, that you?"

"Right, Colonel O'Neill." The GAT-X390 Raider II Gundam only superficially resembled the first Raider. It was much slimmer and actually a good two meters taller. Instead of the wide shoulders, its was very tall, built specifically to transform to fit through the Stargate and break orbit under its own power.

"Get that gold box back to the Stargate. It has absolute precedence. This is a direct order," she yelled out.

"Sir?"

"Move, soldier!"

Sammie O'Neill came through the gate a day later at the head of her team. Playing hide and seek with Jaffa was never her idea of fun. "General Stafford," she called out to the control room that hung from the ceiling as the platform pulled away from the Stargate.

"Colonel O'Neill, after you've finished your debriefing and physical, I need to speak to your team immediately," the general ordered.

She led Rya'c and Mica Jackson into the clean-room of the infirmary where they lockered their weapons and then all four sat on beds. Diana looked unhappy as she laid down on the cold medical bed.

"You'd think that they could warm up the beds slightly," the pilot groused.

Sammie just grinned ruefully. "They actually work best at this temperature. They want to make sure we don't have any hitchhikers." Talk about a security nightmare.

MRI ran over their bodies, verifying that no Goa'uld was attatched to their spine.

"Looks Little G is getting slightly larger," Dr. Kinnerston said as he frowned at the display. "What is the external gestation period of a Goa'uld larva?"

"I do not understand the term you are using, DoctorKinnerston," Rya'c admitted.

"How long do the Goa'uld have to be carried by the Jaffa in your pouches," Mica offered helpfully.

"Ah. About five years, though they are moved more regularly," the Jaffa replied. "The Goa'uld may be not telling us very much so we do not know more of them."

"How long have you had this Goa'uld?" Kinnerston asked.

"Only twenty of your months," he replied stoically.

"We'll have to double check that, but right now General Stafford is expecting us." Sammie led them up to the number two conference room. The one without the nice leather chairs, she realized whimsically.

The general and his aide were sitting at one end. "Colonel Sammie O'Neill, this is Major Rickell. He's here to brief you on the situation and take your report. I'm going to be busy redeploying our special forces group. Good day." He was moving by the time he had finished speaking.

"That doesn't sound good, Major. What's going on?" Sammie asked, her dark eyes narrowed in thought.

"A state of war exists between the Earth Alliance and the PLANTs as of 10:00 hours this morning."

"How the hell did that happen? I thought President Copland was trying to play a politics game?" Diana exclaimed in suprised.

"The PLANTs were attacked by nuclear armed units of the Eurasian Federation's fleet, after similar requests were turned down by President Copland. OMNI deemed the threat of ZAFT's Millennium Project to be extreme enough to issue the attack orders," Rickell explained. "They used the pretext of Izaak Joule's attempted 'boarding' of the Prometheus and the deaths of those sailors to start the attack."

"I can't see Admiral Romev agreeing to that," Sammie said in thought.

"Oh? Hadn't you heard? Admiral Romev is in critical condition and is not expected to recover from an accident on the Autobahn earlier this week," the major said blandly.

The silence was quite tense and stretched as the two natives of Earth thought that over.

"Just peachy."


	3. Chapter 3

Major Rickell sighed as he later got off his supersonic transport to Washington D.C. The leaves were just turning at this time of the year as he was whisked across the city to the Pentagon. He was led to the office of the Joint Chief. "General Dorothy Malles. Reporting as ordered." His salute was quite crisp.

The light-gray haired woman with a pinched expression just nodded off the salute. "Admiral Romev just passed away. There seems to have been a paperwork complication, as the coroner thought that he was supposed to be cremated immediately."

Rickell grimaced at that. "The shadow organization? The one behind Blue Cosmos?"

"We think so. Unfortunately, it appears that they have feelers all through the Earth Alliance and the Atlantic Federation in particular. It seems the only reason that I have not had an accident is because I haven't officially left the Pentagon in three months. And when I have left, it's only been by ring to the orbital installations for half an hour," Malles replied.

"Not very good. Though I can't wait for the Ring Commuter System to be finalized. Earth to the Moon in ten minutes? The stuff of science fiction, General."

"Well, we need to get more information. How far are your eggheads at BULWARK at deciphering that sarcophagus device?" the old woman asked. She had a very hard look.

"Um, yeah. We can use it now. And with what we know of human physiology, we can even attune it so that the recipient's brain chemistry won't be addled," Rickell replied. "General Stafford is waiting for the eggheads to finish their reports before the committee next week."

"Well, we might need it earlier than that. What I'm thinking is morally gray here, major. But if we can get some of Djibril's people... even dead... then we can resurrect them and interrogate them. And they won't have a clue that their birds are talking and spilling their guts to us. So I need that ready to go ASAP."

"Yes, General." Major Rickell was not happy at all, but he could see the move for what it was. As an intelligence gathering device, the strategic value would be insurmountable."

Athrun sat outside Cagalli's office, working on a portable computer on a new robotic design. Purely a piece of fluff, but he might build one for his... lover. He chuckled at that thought.

Yuna Roma Seiran suddenly burst out of the office. "You've ruined her!" he shouted. "You put your filthy coordinator, _unatural_, thoughts and feelings into her pure heart!" he shrieked suddenly, moving over to the sunglass-wearing coordinator.

Athrun was already on his feet. "Milord Seiran?" he asked carefully. He casually stopped the punch headed to him. "I'll forgive that attack as a moment of passion, Seiran." His voice had suddenly gone very, very cold and reminded everyone that he was a very deadly and dangerous soldier.

"She was to wed me! Now she's going on about the two of you-"

The black-haired, green-eyed coordinator slammed his hand down flat on the desk next to him. "That is neither of our choices to make. Cagalli's heart is hers alone!"

The noble's lip curled in disdain. "This will have far reaching consequences. I'll have to talk to my father about some of his most injudicious loans to the Athhas."

With that, he turned and left, leading his small enterouge out of Cagalli's reception area. The thump in Cagalli's office alerted him to her activity. Inside, Athrun found the suit-wearing noble cradling her injured fist and her glaring gaze on her keyboard.

"How about we go to the gun range?" Athrun said carefully. He winced when she just threw herself back into her plush leather chair. "Or maybe take a pair of Marasume's for a spin?"

That actually got her a moment of consideration, then she shook her head.

"Then how about supper at your shore home? I'm sure that Lacus and Kira would love to have you there. And the kids will help." He leaned and whispered into her ear, "Maybe we can go swimming later in the night."

That actually got her to blush and distracted her. "Fine. Let's get out of here now before my phone starts ringing with that waste of flesh's parent calling to make nice."

They were out and in Athrun's sportscar, heading out to her shore villa in moments.

Late that night, just down the shore, specialized underwater mobilsuits unloaded their special force units onto the sand. Coordinators moved from shadow to shadow down the shore to the darkened house. They dealt with the laughable security, until an alarm was triggered outdoors.

The little Haro would always have a kind place in many of their hearts due to his actions.

The special ops soldiers charged into the house, kicking in doors and heading to where Lacus and Kira were supposedly staying. They had to kill her, no matter what.

Their first problem ended up being a boxer clad Athrun as he rolled out of Cagalli's bedroom, his pistol catching the first coordinator in the face and the second one in the knee. He continued his roll right across the hallway and into an unoccupied room. Bullets smashed into the door and then across the room, disintegrating a picture of a blond ace pilot on the night-stand.

The attackers moved up to the doorway that Athrun had ducked into, leaving themselves exposed as Cagalli fired a submachinegun as she stepped out into the hallway, cutting them down. She barely ducked behind cover as an attacker fired at her from further down the hallway.

Athrun popped out and fired three shots; two to his torso and once to his head. "Cagalli!" he shouted.

"Just a scratch! We need to get everyone down to the shelters!" she shouted back.

Kira had three orphans in his arms, while Lacus was carrying two more and the rest followed them. "We're already on our way!" he shouted over his shoulder.

In minutes, they were all behind a massive steel vault door and in the super-tech base below Cagalli's private villa. The coordinators retreated back to the shore to retrieve their UMF/SSO-3 ASHs. They started using them to peel back the armor with their green and yellow pincers.

At the look of the unfamiliar mobilesuits, Cagalli looked really angry and ready to chew the bulkhead on pure venom alone. "Damn, I think the only thing we have in here is the rebuilt Freedom."

"Your sword, Kira," Lacus said softly. She picked up the following pink Haro that had been following them.

Kira looked on in morbid fascination as the ex-singer took the electronic key from within the robot.

"Kira, you don't have to do it. I can pilot the Freedom," Athrun said as he laid his hand on his friend's shoulder.

"No. I have to protect those I love. You didn't see it, but they were here for Lacus," the brown-haired coordinator replied.

"And they nearly killed me and hurt Cagalli-"

"It's a scratch!" she retorted.

"-but they could be here for anyone," Athrun said finally, the harsh light of the metal hallway giving him a more grim demeanor than normal.

"Don't worry. I'll protect everyone," Kira replied. He walked over to Lacus and took the key.

Massive doors whined open as lights flooded down in the darkness on the powered-down form of ZGF-X10 Freedom. With three pilots working, the mobilesuit was ready in record time, launching into the sky.

The ZAFT commander of the special forces blinked as he saw an impossible mobilesuit move with more than super-human acuity, cutting down his men despite their and his own best efforts. How can such a mobilesuit be so fast?

But the fight was foregone in its conclusion, as the Freedom _was_ just too powerful, its pilot too fast and too accurate. His final moment of revenge was denying the Freedom's pilot any intelligence by self-destructing all of ASHs.

"Why? Why bring this madness back into our lives?" Kira complained bitterly.

The war, Durandal thought, was not going exactly the way he had envisioned in these long six months. The battles down on Earth were mostly going his way, though they had to use more sabotage. The longrehein cannon at that pass in the Middle-East had cost them severely until they had crippled it with special forces. The attacks by Orb's naval fleet had caused some issues until he set up an ambush. Even the stolen ZAFT Abyss had not been able to stop a swarm of ASHs, though at great cost. The Abyss had managed to down half of them before having to retreat, but the loss of the Orb Carrier had been decisive in the Mediterranean area.

Space, though, had been a hit or miss. Anywhere that he sent the _Minerva_ **other **than against the Earth Alliance 1st Fleet had proven wonderful. Shinn Asuka had helped thoroughly trounce the Earth Alliance 4th Fleet, which had been a great morale boost, as that had been the fleet that had attempted to nuke the PLANTs.

What sort of technology was the 1st Fleet using? Even a lowly Drake escort cruiser was able to take on _two_ Nazca cruisers. The only reason that he had not been forced to reveal the rebuilt Genesis was that the 1st Fleet was quite content to merely defend their base on the Moon. _Minerva_ and its escorts had been able to retreat (barely!) from their defensive area. He had to have their technology or his entire plan was in trouble.

The com on his coffee table lit up, disrupting his view of his chess game. "Activate com."

"Sir, _Minerva _reports that they will be in position to support the counter-attack on Berlin. Wait, sir. Something is happening."

Out in space, the fleet of four Nazca cruisers with the _Minerva _battleship was cruising to a point above the Atlantic Ocean. If the _Archangel_ interferred again, the _Minerva_ would descend to attack. But now something unprecedented was happening.

In front of them a coruscating energy field has abruptly appeared. Out of it appeared a massive gold pyramid, sleek and high tech.

"Evasive action!" Captain Gladys shouted.

The three ZAFT ships suddenly tried to follow her orders, but the forward Nazca slammed into powerful shields, killing everyone onboard the much smaller ship.

"What happened?" the Jaffa leader Laighe yelled out. His bright red hair only covered a little of his mistress's symbol. Around him, Jaffa worked quickly at their golden panels and controls.

"We hit a Tauri space ship. This world is lousy with debris," his navigator called out.

"Why did we not pick them up on long range sensors?" Laighe asked angrily.

"There is some sort of primitive quantum jamming. We are compensating."

Back on the _Minerva_, ZAFT soldiers were running around readying for combat.

"Launch all mobilesuits! Order to the fleet, fire a full barrage into that Alliance ship! For the PLANTs!" Gladys shouted as her crew worked to follow the commands.

Shinn hissed as he was rocketed out the center catapult, quickly assembling the Force Impulse. "What sort of monster is that?" he asked as the massive, 650 meter wide ship launched crescent-shaped fighters.

Rey Za Burrel shrugged. "I don't think it is OMNI. It is too... alien." His white ZAKU Blaze flashed out of the left catapult, the red ZAKU Warrior following him out the left catapult.

Luminaria Hawke's eyes were wide in shock. "Whatever it is, its huge!"

The massive pyramid unleashed plasma beams that the _Minerva's _mobilesuits avoided with incredible agility, much to the Jaffa gunner's shock. The GINN's were not as lucky, as the massive plasma bolts vaporized two of them from the other ships.

The advanced mobilesuits unleashed a veritable storm of energy back, not affecting the mighty ship. The _Minerva's_ Tristan energy cannons _did_ affect it, but only to the point of getting its attention.

"Laighe, negligable damage is being inflicted by their primative weapons," the Jaffa's second in command.

"Open a communication to these primatives!" Laighe ordered. In moments his image was broadcasted to the ZAFT ships. "I am Laighe, Secundus and humble servant of the mighty and fearless Goddess Morigan. Bow down to her will or be destroyed!"

"Go to hell," Captain Gladys snarled back instantly. What the _hell_ was that thing?

"Then die in her fire. Destroy the fleet!" the Jaffa Secundus roared, his pale face turning red in anger.

"Evade!" Arthur shouted; the pilot responded instantly to send the _Minerva _swooping while missiles, beams and cannons fired.

The Jaffa manning the staff-cannons were surprised at its speed, but their brethren that struck at the slower Nazca cruisers had much greater luck. One ship went up with all hands.

"They have shields like the Earth Alliance 1st Fleet!" the captain suddenly realized.

That was when the first staff-cannons slammed home, ripping the port wing off the _Minerva_. The Deathgliders shrieked in to fire at the GINNs, ZAKU and the Impulse. They then ran into the very first unpleasant surprise.

Mobilesuits beat any fighter in everything but straight-line speed. The twenty mobilesuits attacked their diminutive foes, cannons firing in rapid accuracy. Dozens of Deathgliders, feared the galaxy over, burned in the space of their foe.

"Secundus Laighe, the giant robot vehicles of the Tauri are defeating our Deathgliders. The pilots can not adjust to the strange movements and accuracy," the second in command of the Ha'tak said in worry.

"So I see. But they are not carrying weapons heavy enough to bother us. We shall destroy their ships, then leave them to die as you would fruit plucked from its vine," Laighe said with a smile. "Continue destroying their ships."

Gladys was thinking rapidly. She was basing her thoughts as if they were the Earth Alliance's new ship. "All hands, brace for impact. Engines to full," she called out.

"Captain!" Arthur Trine called out. "It's the Earth Alliance's 1st Fleet!"

Out in space, eighteen Drake-escort cruisers, ten Nelson-class battleships and two Agamemnon-class carriers launched themselves into the fray in a tight formation at impossible speeds.

"All ships, fire as you bear!" the admiral of the flagship called out. "Launch all mobilsuits with heavy weapons! We must take that Ha'tak down! For Earth! For Humanity!"

"Secundus! These ships are more advanced and have shields!"

The Jaffa leader frowned as he studied the controls. "But not powerful enough. Move to evade and focus on one ship at a time. Ignore the unshielded ships," he called out.

And it appeared to be accurate. The huge Ha'tak moved nimbly for its size, brushing aside mobilesuits and gunning down the most dangerous of the Tauri ships, the Nelson-class battleships. While the Stargate Force retrofits had upped their durability by a staggering amount, that only made them able to survive six hits from the Ha'tak, not the two that it took to destroy each Nazca-class cruisers.

Out in space, Dagger Ls and GINNs fought back to back as the Impulse and its ZAKU backups fought the remainder of the fighters.

"Captain, should we resume ramming speeds?" Arthur called out.

"No, we would have no chance. We're too slow," she admitted sourly. "Ready Taunhauser. Charge it to maximum and prepare to fire."

Laighe smiled. The Ha'tak's shields were starting to regenerate. There were no longer enough enemies to keep wearing them down. "Crush the infidels. Show them true power of our great and bloody goddess, Morrigan!"

Kira stared at the wreckage of the great city known as Berlin. Much of it was destroyed and the forces from the Earth Alliance were still wreaking great havoc. And now matter how much he wanted to stop all of the battles, his Freedom had barely defeated the gigantic Gundam Destroys.

"Kira! We are going to retreat! Eurasian forces are on their way. They should be enough to repulse these butchers, but we are pretty battered here," Captain Murrue Ramius called out from her captain's chair on the _Archangel_. "We may come back and help them."

The Freedom dodged another attack by the oddly colored Windham when he saw something he had not expected. All of the Earth Alliance forces in Berlin suddenly started pulling back, only shooting at him or the Marasumes from following.

"They're retreating? What's going on?" Kira asked in wonder.

Athrun's custom painted bright-red Marasume landed next to him as it transformed into its human-shape. "I don't know. One moment we are near defeat and having to retreat and the next... they are just pulling back to their battleship."

The O.M.N.I. gigantic brute of a landship was still visible, but had stopped firing.

Cagalli looked up in shock from the communication console of the Archangel's bridge. "Captain, we have an emergency communication from O.M.N.I. It is coded Ultra-Violet and for your eyes only."

"But I'm not-" Murrue started to protest, then stopped herself. "I'll take it in my ready room."

By the time the Archangel had recovered all of its mobilesuits, she had finished reading the dispatch. She headed to the meeting room after calling the senior officers.

Around the cramped table were Kira, Cagalli, Athrun and Miriallia. "I have been contacted by the Earth Alliance high command."

"What!" Cagalli shouted. "Why should we listen to those bastards after all they have done?"

"Because an alien attack is currently under way and we may be required to attempt to drive its mothership away," she replied grimly.

"Murrue... Captain, that's nuts. You're saying that aliens have arrived and attacked-?"

"A ZAFT fleet just out beyond the Debris Field. The Earth Alliance 1st Fleet is currently in battle. They expect to be destroyed with another hour." Her grim words were a shock.

As of the resumption of hostilities, the 1st Fleet had reached mythic proportions for its advanced technologies. Their speed, power and shields had seemed like something that ZAFT was unlikely to counter for a long while. Athrun and Cagalli had both wondered why the Earth Alliance had not used it decisively.

"We aren't going to be able to make much of a difference if the entire 1st Fleet is being destroyed," Kira noted morosely.

"The Atlantic Federation is marshaling its forces for a counter attack as soon as possible."

Kira suddenly had a worried look on his face, surprising his twin sister. Athrun noted the look, but continued to listen.

Murrue continued, "They have requested that we receive liaison officers versed with advanced equipment to assist with the counter-offensive. They believe that these soldiers will convince us that we should at least temporarily trust them."

"Who are they?" Kira suddenly demanded.

Murrue looked at her premiere pilot. "They are a specialist team called Stargate Force 1, along with support personnel."

Kira looked frazzled and let his sister drag him off. He had been fighting non-stop for over three hours.

Ten minutes later, an Atlantic Fleet fast troop transport screamed in at maximum speed to land in the Archangel's port landing bay. Murdoch met the Atlantic Federation commanding officer.

"Colonel," he called out while saluting to the older woman.

"Chief," she replied while saluting. "I need to speak to Captain Ramius immediately."

"This way." Mudoch nodded to a few of his men to watch the engineers as they started to unload large crates. His eyes noted the two civilians in camoflage and the young girl in Atlantic Federation navy uniform. She looked familiar, but her drawn features and short hair did not bring up anything. It was as they were exiting the elevator that her features finally jogged his memory.

The snap of his safety unlatching caught everyone's attention. "Who the hell are you? Because you sure aren't Flay Allster."

Ry'ac tensed, judging the distance between them. Sammie and Diana both carefully kept their hands away from their holsters.

"Please, stop. We are not your enemies," Mica said carefully. "Ensign Allster's happy return from beyond is a one in a billion miracle, but she is who you think she is."

Murrue froze, taking in the girl's appearance. "You don't look like you aged at all."

"I was dead. The dead don't age," she replied in a flat tone.

"The dead are just that; dead! Is she a clone?" Cagalli demanded angrily.

"Only her external epidermis was severely burned by the exploding shuttle-pod. She asphyxiated and froze in the shadows of the remains, until she was recovered by Atlantic Federation forces. As she had no living relatives, she was in the morgue, sealed and frozen until we recovered her a month ago," Sammie explained in hard terms bluntly. "With recovered technology, we were able to revive her to almost full ability and only minimal trauma."

"Alien," Cagalli whispered. "Alien technology. You've brought these aliens here by stealing their technology."

"It's not a yes nor no, as it's a lot more complicated, Miss Athha. The Aliens have known where Earth is for thousands of years. And they are unfriendly." Diana Hills had a cocky grin on her face. "As in they shoot to kill first, make the survivors worship you sort."

"That's not-" Mica started to complain.

"Close enough for government work, Mica," Sammie cut off quickly. "We poked the hornets nest and discovered the big bad. Now we have to defend ourselves from the big bad."

"Certainly they aren't that bad," Cagalli argued.

"No, in fact they are far worse. They believe themselves to be Gods incarnate and that all lesser beings are mere pawns or pets to be used. A Goa'uld would not think twice in killing a helpless child if it stood in the way of its power," Ry'ac proclaimed emphatically.

"How do you know that?"

"Because I was a slave to them for over a hundred years, MissAthha," the Jaffa warrior declared. "Would you see the face of your enemy? For he knows the face of humanity and yearns to shackle them back into slavery and barbarism." With that, Ry'ac popped open his shirt and bared his stomach pouch, agitating the larval Goa'uld within him.

The snake-thing stuck its head out of the pouch, shrieking a warning.

"What the hell is that thing?" Murrue demanded as she pulled her pistol.

"That is an immature Goa'uld, before it has taken over a human as it is wont to do. To them, we are mere bodies to wear that happen to be smarter and prettier than others."

"Shit. This is like a bad episode of Star Trek. These things can take over humans?" Murdoch asked as he carefully put his pistol away.

"Indeed."

"Hence why we are upgrading our ships as fast as we can. And we've run out of time. We can not let that Ha'tak gain space superiority. Stargate Forces Command wishes your aid in stopping this threat."

"If the Atlantic Federation 1st Fleet and ZAFT can't do it, how do you expect us to do so?" Murrue asked harshly, well aware that her beloved ship was no longer cutting edge.

"Admiral Morrington made a tactical blunder, rushing in to 'rescue' the ZAFT fleet before we could supply him with weapons from BULLWARK 1. We're going to get exactly one shot and were going to have to make it count." The colonel stood up straighter. "I'll give it to you straight, we have a ten percent chance of succeeding and a one percent chance in _that_ to survive. This is a ride straight into the gates of hell, but this is the only ship that has a chance right now."

"Morrington always felt he and his ship was superior to everyone else. He finally screwed up big enough to get him shot and now we have to pay the piper to save the world," the captain of the Archangel groused.

"Well, we have some last shot Christmas presents that might make a difference. They should have finished assembling the transport rings by now for the anti-grav generator. And a bunch of missiles." Sammie smiled nastily at that. "You are about to become the most heavily armed ship on Earth."

"How does this work?" Murdoch asked as he looked at the set of rings.

"Matter transmission. Unlike Startrek, you have to have a receiver. We are going to 'ring' in supplies as fast as we can through the ring transport network," Diana said as technicians finished wiring the controls. "We have a signal yet?"

"We have signal and lock on. The _Asterea_ is in position and has finished accepting supplies," the tech replied.

"Well, let's see what the general and colonel have for us. Ready the manipulators to receive supplies," the pilot called out.

The rings flashed as they processed the transfer and the disappeared. Robotic arms lifted pallets of missile bodies out of the way. Then four crates. For over half an hour, supplies were sent over.

"Damn, I don't even recognize the _markings_ on some of these," the Archangel's mechanic and engineer complained.

"Last load. Watch out, this is our warheads for the sledgehammers! These are nuclear N-Jammer capable missiles and we don't want to screw it up," Sammie O'Neill called out.

That sent a cold chill up Athrun's back where he was watching as he took a break.

"These are 500 megaton missiles and we have a spread of thirty-two of them," Sammie said as she directed them to the pallet loaders.

"The hell? How did you cram that much power into such a small package?" Murdoch yelled out. They were standard Sledgehammer size.

"These are naquadah enhanced nuclear weapons. We could have made them smaller, but they have anti-shield piercing technology also. We are hoping that with this we can take out that monster over our heads."

Sixteen Gigatons of warheads, Athrun mentally calculated. That could tear the atmosphere off the Earth. Sammie really had not been joking about why they kept this under special lock and key.

The warning lights started flashing as an announcement came over the public address system, indicating incoming mobilesuits.

Even so, when Athrun saw the black, green, blue and mauve mobilesuits, he was quite shocked. The stolen ZAFT mobilesuits and that Windham that the _Archangel _had faced numerous times in the last few months. "More trickery?"

"No, more real-politik," Sammie said. "They are here to be vetted under Captain Ramius's command along with two positron deflector mobile armors. It really sucks, but with the fate of the world in the balance you have to pay the piper to get all the players." Colonel Sammie O'Neill frowned as they were stowed in the open bays.

"The only way this could be worse is if we had the _Minerva's_ pilots in on this," Athrun muttered to himself.

"Colonel, we've got the last anti-gravity module attached and turned on. They'll only be good for about twenty hours and there's no controls, but they'll get us into orbit fast. I'm really worried about using those Zamza-Zahs as a stop-gap for shields," the officious Atlantic Federation said angrily.

"Stuff it, we don't have a better solution. You can get off the ship while we go throw our lives at the big bad aliens, Major Sterns. We are only taking volunteers," Sammies snapped back.

"Excluding us, of course. Earth Alliance's 81st Autonomous Mobile Group; Captain Neo Roanoke, commanding." The silver mask gleamed in the bright light of the landing bay as he stepped off his lift-line. He saluted to the superior officer with perfect pomp and aplomb.

Athrun and the rest of the Archangel crew stared at the two kids and the one older officer behind them.

"Phantom Pain on our side? Wonderful," Athrun said. With friends like this, what were their enemies like?

Kira awoke slowly, feeling a presence looming beside him in his personal bunk. The only reason he was not lashing out in defense is because he felt no aggression, no anger. Merely a familiar longing that was somehow filling the hole in his heart. "Flay," he breathed out softly.

"I'm... here, Kira," the other person said. Her voice almost matched, but was subtlety off.

"You don't sound quite like Her. Everything about you screams that you should be Flay Allster, but you can't be. I saw you die myself." If they were trying to mess with his mind like this, he was in serious danger.

"My vocal cords were pretty messed up, along with most of my skin. Kira, you aren't insane. I died."

"But-!" he started to exclaim only to be stopped by her fingertips.

"We don't have time. We're fighting something you could only have imagined before. I want you to promise me that you will come back to us," the redhead asked seriously as she scrubbed her hands through her short hair.

"Why do I have to promise that?" the young coordinator suddenly asked.

"Oh, that's right. Sorry, my brain isn't fully at one hundred percent. Of course you don't know. We're going to fight the aliens. We're the last hope of Earth. They really caught us with our pants down. The first Seraphim class battle-carrier is months away from flight tests. And if we don't stop that Ha'tak, it's going to destroy all of the PLANTs and every major city in the world." Her blue eyes tried to focus. "That's why I want you to promise to come back."

"I will come back. I still have so much to talk about. So many things to take back," Kira said as he sat up and started pulling on his uniform.

"You need your flight suit. We'll be hitting orbit in twenty minutes."

Up on the bridge, Murrue looked at the new consoles and extra crew packed in. "Charge Lohengrins. Tell that shuttle to get the hell out of our way."

"Lohengrins at fifty percent."

"Engines to full," the pilot called out.

"Fire!" the captain ordered.

Sammie nodded to his team. This had to work.

"Evade!" Captain Gladys shouted as the helmsman took the Mineva into a battered spin behind a large piece of flotsam in the debris field. Gods, if only they could actually affect them. Is this what the Naturals felt like at the beginning of the 1st Valentine War?

The Ha'tak pulverized the debris, but only shook the ZAFT battleships. "Why can you not destroy this one, lone unshielded ship?" Laighe demanded of his Jaffa. His handsome features were becoming mottled in pure anger.

"Its pilot is very cunning and the ship is remarkably fast for such primitive technology." The Jaffa helmsman knew that such excuses were not going to be tolerated for very long.

That was when two positron beams struck the Ha'tak at long range, appreciably draining its shields for a few seconds.

"New ship rising from the planet," another Jaffa called out.

Laighe looked at the Goa'uld based sensors. "Strange, it is not much more advanced than the ship they were currently trying to destroy. Obliterate it."

Massive plasma bolts shot out, only to be dispersed by the two mobilearmors attached limpet-like to the front of each 'leg.'

"That worked. Full thrust. I want a barrage of standard sledgehammers. Let's get them used to us firing at them," Murrue orders. "Gotfrieds and valiants, _FIRE!_" The Archangel spat emerald fire in defiance at the Ha'tak. The valiant railguns spat their rounds, for unfortunately all the effect they would have.

The Ha'tak had spun around, ignoring the wounded and battered Minerva that took the opportunity to recover its depleted mobilsuits to recharge and refit them.

"Let's give those anti-Goa'uld missiles a whirl, eh?" Sammie said from the console behind Murre.

"Yes, lets. Sledgehammer-Ns, fire two in the next spread," she called out.

The Archangel again veered right as it spun, the left Gells-Ghe mobilearmor shuddered as it blocked another plasma attack. "I'm still good," the captain of the three-man crewed mobile armor called out.

Two blinding bursts flared as over a gigaton of nuclear fire power slammed into the Ha'tak.

"Those were advanced Naquadah derived missiles," Laighe sputtered in disbelief. He quickly looked at the readouts on the massive screen in the control room. "But it will be ultimately futile. Most of the power was dispersed ineffectively. Destroy the new interloper. Full barrage!"

The Ha'tak started firing all of its weapons. The Archangel avoided most of the attack, while the two Gells-Ghe stopped all but one hit, but that one hit dropped their defense by half as the port mobile armor was blasted off the Archangel as the area it was attached to was was vaporized by the the attack.

"Signal BULLWARK 1. We need backup," Murrue called out. "Launch all mobilesuits! Send the Murasume in for bombing runs."

"We are cresting the horizon in thirty seconds," Flay called out. She had volunteered for bridge duty, taking a communication position.

The Archangel fast launched all of the mobilesuits it had. Freedom, Abyss, Gia, Chaos and Murasumes. The lone Windham seemed at odds, but the pilot seemed to make up for the fact that he was merely a Natural in a mass-produced mobilesuit with pure skill. The transforming mobilesuits (the Murasume and the Chaos) all zoomed off at full speed.

Athrun narrowed his eyes. "Launch all heavy missiles!" he ordered his squad as they raced ahead of all of the other mobilesuits.

Heavy missiles fired from the center-line of the mobile-armors, shrieking off to slam into shield to little affect. Goa'uld Deathgliders came out to fight the much larger 'fighters' only to discover that they were actually transformable mobilesuits.

Laighe frowned. "I can see why our goddess Morrigan is so interested. We shall destroy these people and take their weapons, improve them and make them our own." He raised up his arm, then chopped it down. "Destroy them!"

"My lord, our shields are taking a beating. This one ship is managing to inflict more damage than that entire fleet," one of the other Jaffa call out.

"Destroy them! Lest you bring the wrath of Morrigan upon us!" he screamed.

"The Ha'tak is cresting the Earth's horizon!" the Archangel's sensor operator called out.

"Maneuver them so that they are thirty seconds deeper into BULLWARK's fire zone!" Murrue ordered.

Out of the deep debris field, scarlet beams of energy appeared from a hidden ship.

"Signal the Archangel that the Eternal will assist," Lacus Clyne called out on her bridge. The famed red ship shuddered forward under full combat speed. The attached METEOR units were on continuous fire as it started to maneuver through the Ha'tak

"My lord, another ship has appeared!" a frantic Jaffa called out. Why were these monster still fighting? What sort of fanatics were they? They were totally outmatched yet they kept fighting. Kept finding new ships!

On the bridge of the Minerva, Talia Gladys curled her hands into angered fists. "Ready all mobilesuits for immediate deployment. This ship will not be shown up by grandstanding rebels!"

In moments, the _Minerva_ creaked into battle. Its frame was battered, nearly smashed as ZAKU and the Impulse formed up in front of it.

"They are deep in BULLWARK's firing range!" Sammie shouted. She hit a button on her console. "Fire when ready, BULLWARK 1!"

Massive machines whined to life under mountainous doors as dual positron ship cannons lifted up. Advanced crystal-alien technology focused the beams, concentrating the power to the mere width of Gotfried cannons. The shot streaked into the atmosphere, slamming into the Ha'tak.

"Sheilds down to ten percent!" a shocked Jaffa shouted out.

"What? Evade!" Laighe cried out. He rushed over to the controls, starting to prepare the hyperdrive engines.

"Full power to engines. All tubes a full barrage of N-Slammers! Order the mobilesuits to lead the way," Captain Murrue shouted out. The battered Archangel surged in a curve as its missile tubes opened.

The Eternal tried to follow its move, but its pilot was less skilled and his ship not quite as agile. Three shots hammered home, smashing its engines and sending it tumbling without power.

The Ha'tak saw the carrier rushing towards it, firing defiance every second of its charge. One of the wings of the Archangel was shot off even as a port land 'leg' was blasted. It pitched up, skimming right over the shields.

"Fire!" Murrue shouted while clutching the handrests of her captain's chair.

All eight missiles shrieked up in spiraling contrails.

"Bow down! Put the Ha'tak between us and the missiles!" Murrue shouted as the Archangel and its mobilesuits dodged behind the alien warship.

Bodies were flung over control panels and from their posts onboard the golden pyramid as gigatons of explosive force rippled into the Ha'tak. Even kilometers away, the Eternal shook like a leaf in the wind, though it was only damaged _more._

"We have sustained serious structural damage," one of the Jaffa on the bridge said as he dragged himself back to his station.

"Prepare for immediate retreat to hyperspace," the Secondus ordered.

Lacus opened her one functioning eye. "Status!" she rasped. Blood covered half her face.

"We're in bad shape, but the alien warship is starting to fire at the damaged Archangel. They are ignoring us because we have no weapon power. We dead in space," the Desert Tiger called out. The bridge of the Eternal was a charnal house.

"If a METEOR unit is still functional launch it to the Freedom!" Lacus called out with her last strength. Her dear knight needed his true sword.

"Launching METEOR 2!" Andrew shouted. "METEOR away, Miss Lacus. Miss Lacus?"

The young revolutionary was floating in front her battered captain's chair, bubbles of blood floating around her.

"Give them hell kid!" Andrew shouted into the radio in sudden anger even as he moved to render medical aid.

The Jaffa ignored the low powered device as it rocketed towards the Freedom. At least until it connected up and its power levels dramatically increased. Massive cannons fired as missiles streamed in.

That was when Kira felt his heart break. "No." His purple eyes spun to the shattered Eternal. "NO!"

A blast from the damaged Ha'tak nearly hit the famed mobilesuit, dragging Kira's attention back to the alien warship. With a roar, the Ultimate Coordinator flung the METEOR empowered Freedom in a streak towards the Ha'tak.

"Shields are regenerating up to three percent. Ignore the robot," Laighe said with a laugh. It could not affect them in the slightest.

A purple seed of destiny shattered in Kira's rage as mighty beam sabers, tuned to cut through energy shields; extended like vengeful wings. With perfect timing, he slammed into the shield just before the Minerva's Taunhauser positron cannon slammed back through collapsed shields to rock the desperately wounded ship. The Minerva was streaking close in, smelling blood.

"Fire Tristan, Isolde and Neidhardts!" Captain Gladys shouted. "Pull us in closer so only a few of those turrets can hit us."

Laighe reached for the hyperspace controls just as the heavy ground positron cannons from BULLWARK 1 fired again. The whole Ha'tak shuddered and moved over a hundred meters, smashing into the Minerva... just as the hyperspace generators came to life for the last time.

With a flash, they disappeared from over the Earth, only to smash back into normal space ludicrously close to Saturn.

The Battle for Earth had ended.

The fight to stay alive afterwards had just begun.


	4. Chapter 4

It was the groans of pain that awoke Talia Gladys.

"Captain!" Arthur Trine called out. Her deputy sounded very relieved. "We've lost main power, though engineering says they'll have it back in up half an hour."

"Enemy status," she called out.

"No response, so I think they are in as rough a shape as we are." The exec was over by Meyrin Hawke as they pulled up sensor information.

"Captain? I am receiving garbled responses from the astrogation system. We may have a problem with sensors," Meyrin called out. "Belay that. I found the problem. Captain, we have a _much_ more serious problem."

The picture of Saturn on her display had all of the Coordinators enthralled for long moments.

"Faster than light propulsion. The motherlode of space-flight for over a century," Gladys said softly. Unless someone else had this FTL capability, they were likely dead.

"I'm seeing a reaction from the enemy ship. It's extending a airlock dock to the port front hatch," another technician called out.

"All hands, prepare to repel boarders." Gladys hit the battle-stations alert herself. "All hands, arms yourselves."

It was a day later and Kira was still in his pilots cabin.

"Kira," Flay's soft voice called out. "You need to get up. The _Archangel_ is going to be evacuated while its repaired."

He nodded mutely as he stood up, following the one-time dead girl out of the officers quarters. He ignored his old friend's green eyes, even as Athrun tightened his grip on Cagalli's hands.

As soon as Kira was out of earshot, the smaller blonde turned to her lover. "Will he recover?"

"He's strong, but _she_ was his strength. This could destroy him more thoroughly than Rau LeCruscent ever could." Athrun just could not see a way to save him.

Kira continued to follow Flay to the docking plank where they were led off the _Archangel _and across the water resevoir and into BULLWARK-1 itself. The mighty base in the Colorado Rockies was a huge affair of hollowed out caves, built to titantic proportions.

It was actually bigger than Terminal had thought, he noted dully. It could easily handle six Archangel class ships in its interior docks. And in several of those docks there were more _Archangels_, though its lines were harder and its bridge was lower down. One looked almost complete.

Beyond the dock, he was led to an elevator that took him down many levels and into a barracks area.

"Will you be all right here, Kira?" Flay finally asked.

His grunt was all the response he got, but he moved in and sat on his new bunk. After a minute, Flay closed the door and headed down the grim concrete hallways with the pipes and conduits easily visible.

One set of stairs led her to the office area and to a simple door labeled 'Col. O'Neill'. She stopped and looked at it for a long time, then finally knocked.

"Enter," Sammie called out. Her desk was covered in comp pads. "Ensign Allster." Her voice was cool and collected as her gray-brown eyes.

"Have you gone over my request, Ma'am?" the ensign asked as she saluted.

The colonel acknowledged the salute but just gave her a very long, piercing look. "I'm not sure that we should use our resources in such an overt way."

"It's already in the lower security clearance records that the Goa'uld have the ability to revivify humans. That means that the normal OMNI and ZAFT forces are going to know that the technology exist very shortly," she replied carefully. "The life sciences are one point where we nearly match Goa'uld technology. And there are other benefits. Not only will we get to debrief Lacus Clyne in relative peace, it will make a very strong incentive for our new allies in Terminal and the crew of the Archangel."

"And one Kira Yamato."

"And it will stabilize Kira Yamato while potentially making him a personal ally." Flay licked her lips nervously. This all stemmed from the death of the young starship commander and PLANT revolutionary. "Without Lacus Clyne, Terminal may fracture badly. With the potential loss of the moderates within the PLANTS, our truce with them could be on very fragile grounds."

Sammie pursed her lips as she considered the proposal. Bringing anyone back from the dead was supposed to be strictly controlled just to avoid any favoritism. But the windfall of intelligence and strengthening of the moderates within the PLANTS was actually very important. If it could be used to lever Kira and the crew of the Archangel to join up as allied forces within the Stargate Forces... it may well be worth it to sell to General Stafford. "You're points have a lot of merit. I am surprised though."

"Oh, ma'am?" Flay asked, not quite masking her worry.

"I'm surprised that you care for your rival in Yamato's affection back onboard."

"She makes him happy, ma'am."

Sammie blinked at that, then narrowed her eyes as she sat back in the high-backed office chair. "I would say that shows a fair degree of mature thinking, ensign." And, as much as she hated to think about it, made her think that Allster was probably headed to a promotion to lieutenant junior grade in the future. "I won't promise anything, but your points have merit. Dismissed."

Flay saluted and backed out of the office with alacrity. Outside in the grim concrete corridor she considered what to do next. With a sigh, she realized all she could do right now was be there for Kira.

Lord Djibril looked apoleptic and about to burst an artery. The man on the screen in front of him looked totally unphased by his displeasure. "President Copland, I must protest. We are a important strategic partner to all of the Earth Alliance nations. To be so cavalierly blocked on such an important intelligence issue is an insult-"

The President of the Atlantic Federation cut him off. "Lord Djibril, let's cut to the chase. You do _not_ dictate policy to the Atlantic Federation, the Earth Alliance nor any _part_ of OMNI. LOGOS is a valued and strategic partner and producer for us, that is true." His flinty eyes stared from the wall of screens. "And to be quite truthful, while I don't hold any kindness for gene- Coordinators, they are a whole hell of a lot more 'human' than the Goa'uld and their Jaffa."

"If we'd had the undisputed support of Stargate Forces and their technological miracles, we could have successfully concluded this war and wiped out those damn hour-glasses," the arms-manufacturer snarled.

"Djibril, we don't have that luxury. And we may be forced into some very, very unpleasant medical realities. I have a report from General Malles that the Goa'uld have used biowarfare to eradicate no less than at least five planets of humans." The elected leader of the Atlantic Federation gave him a moment to consider that. "The actual population that they wiped out was only a few tens of millions, but from what I've learned Earth is actually _less_ resistant to this sort of attack than those primitive worlds."

"What are you saying, Joseph?" the effeminate fanatic asked in a suddenly harsh tone.

"Normal humans are quite susceptible to an attack of this sort, but the PLANTS would be all but immune thanks to the Coordinators disease resistance. It makes my skin crawl, but we may need to make limited genetic modifications just to survive the Goa'uld. If they don't just blast us back to the stone age."

"And how likely is that?" He was furiously thinking over the backlash this would have within Blue Cosmos.

"At this point and within the next five years, we have a ten percent chance of holding off any significant attacks. Which is just another way of saying we've got a ninety percent chance of being wiped out in total. And that pisses me off. It also frankly scares me. They only sent one 'battleship' to wipe out most of our most powerful forces, Djibril. If they had sent just one more, they'd be busy leveling cities and destroying every single orbital installation we have."

Djibril nodded slowly. That was a rather... uncomfortable admission. Especially with what he had heard of the 1st Fleet. "There's only one way around that."

"And Stargate Forces has been doing it. We've been stealing or capturing any exampled of technology that we can. And it's been immense. If we did not have any worries about the Goa'uld, we could have likely rolled over ZAFT with the 1st Fleet in probably about three months. But we did have to worry about the damn snakes so we have to go on building new ships that are as powerful as we can build them."

"And how long is that going to be?" Djibril wondered what sort of manufacturing docks they had worked up.

"A lot more than I'd like, but removing the need from secrecy here is going to help us greatly. We only have the Seraphim about two months from completion, but two of her sisters will be finished in eight months. We figure we can switch over all of the slips to build them in just six months. And, loath though I am to admit it, ZAFT will be able to build two more of their battleships with our upgrades."

"You are going to give ZAFT this new technology?" Djibril exclaimed angrily.

"Not quite our latest and best, but yes, we are. As Benjamin Franklin said, we either hang together or we are going to be hung together."

The nobles decision to cut the line spoke quite eloquently about his displeasure.

Gilbert Durandal watched the PLANTS main news channel, trumpeting the sudden cession of hostilities with the Earth Alliance. His carefully laid plans were, quite in fact, totally destroyed.

No longer would he be able to destroy the Earth Alliance, OMNI and subjugate the Naturals into forced Coordination.

Though, he had to admit to himself darkly, he did not have to worry about the destruction of the PLANTS by the 1st Fleet any time soon. That had rapidly growing as a major concern. His intelligence agents just could not figure out why OMNI was not using them to their full effect to destroy ZAFT and the PLANTS themselves.

Now he merely had to worry about the potential destruction of all Earth humanity by megalomaniac aliens.

"Terry," he called out to his personal assistant. "Let's get started and reworking our entire project. I'd like to first return most of our men to the PLANTS except for technical experts. Get Director Budges over at the shipyard to stop all new construction. We're going to have to take a very close look at what we will have to be building."

Terry Good frowned at that. "We are only going to be able to do some very preliminary decisions at this point."

"Understood, but we have been already given the basic weight and volume for installing things like gravity and shield generators. From what our... liaison at this Stargate Forces informed us, the biggest problem is providing enough power. Our shielded fission reactors just don't output enough, so they will have to be replaced." Durandal almost shook his head in wonder at what he'd been told of. Fusion reactors with an almost fifty percent efficiency. "I think we should look at removing the redundancy by taking out the main backup and just installing the biggest power plant we can. Its the only way we will be able to fight another Ha'tak."

"I can float that idea. It goes against most military doctrine, but I can see where we might have to do that."

"The next thing is we have to get a hold of that faster than light technology. It may be audacious, but if we can attach it to even just one PLANT, we can move ourselves further away from... people like Blue Cosmos. With a larger buffer, we will have time to expand our numbers." They did not even have to move outside the solar system, the Chairman thought.

"That seems a bit tricky. They are really barely mobile now," his assistant said.

"Quite. We also need to get several commando teams prepared for Stargate Forces training. They already have over a hundred teams, but we can make up in quality what we lack in quantity. Contact the different chairmen's staffs and lets get started on the changes we are going to need to make. We should be able to have at least a high priority planning meeting in two days."

"Yes, sir."

_So far away that it was mere abstract numbers of time, a presence floated thought an ancient and abandoned ocean. Ethereal and invisible, it took a moment to listen to the melancholy tones of the great whales. After a seeming eternity, it continued its trek to a submerged city._

_While he was not breaking any rules of interference, hard-liners among the ascended would look unfavorably on his actions._

_Sunlight filtered only dimly to the depths of this world and through the minimal level forcefield kept around aging towers and piers. Nothing moved down dark corridors that had not seen visitors for thousands of years._

_As easily as a normal person would navigate a fully lit living room, the presence went directly to a circular room with a large pedestal in the center. Two of the three Zero Point Modules were quite... depleted (though that was not accurate for their state) but the third one was failing... again. Not even daring to look to see if anyone was watching (which would have been detectable) the ZPM suddenly become slightly more energetic. A mere half a percent more (but nearly three more percent longer than it should have lasted at all)._

_Just as casually, he departed for yet another trip to a nostalgic spot in the Pegasus Galaxy. Though he wondered if someone else would recharge it next time? He had actually shown up once to find it already 'fixed' much to his happy surprise._

Arthur Trine braced his feet against the wall in the zero-g environment and then let a burst from the assault rifle, cutting down another 'Jaffa' down the corridor. With remarkable control (and decent zero-g training) he then flipped off his perch to kick off a wall and then drop 'below' the edge of a corner.

"Deputy Captain, should we keep pushing forward into their wreck?" one of his green-jacketed soldiers asked.

"Not with this air." And indeed the air was turning stale at a rapid pace. It appeared the enemy's ship was in worse shape than their own. Which, all in all, suited Arthur perfectly fine. They had murdered the _Minerva_, after all. And that was unforgivable.

They pulled back to the Ha'tak's airlock where another pair of green-jacketed ZAFT soldiers waited. These two were wounded, but able to keep fighting to a degree.

"Deputy Captain!"

He nodded at them. "Any word from the captain?"

"We finally got a response from the PLANTS. I guess a rescue mission is getting planned."

Arthur gave him a surprised look. "They do understand that we are out by Saturn?"

"Yes. I guess that we will be getting rescued by an Earth Alliance ship once it finishes up repairs in a few days. So we only have to survive that long."

"Damn Naturals," the deputy captain complained.

"The captain's decided that we need to capture the Ha'tak before the Earth Alliance shows up."

"Really? That sounds... adventurous."

Secondus Laighe felt much anger about the Coordinators he was facing. "Why can we not seize their ship?" he demanded of his few remaining Jaffa.

"There ship is very primitive, Secondus. It has no gravity generators and they are trained to fight is such a strange way." The blond Jaffa licked his dry lips, his blue eyes unwavering. "We have also discovered something disconcerting. These warriors we are fighting are actually stronger and faster than we are, my lord."

"What? We are Jaffa, raised up by our mighty gods to be superior to any human. Unless you are saying my warriors have become so weak that even humans can overcome them?" he asked dangerously.

"Of course not, Mighty Laighe. It does not appear that we can repair the ship within the next few days. At most, only a month. The air is clearing and we still have mighty stores of food. I would suggest that when we depart this benighted system that we stop at the nearest Chappai and request supplies and replacement soldiers." Bringing up the fighting prowess of the humans of this world was definitely not something he could bring up again if he valued his life.

"And the communication system? Our goddess may be displeased that we were thrown back, but that just proves that this system is worth conquering... or destroying."

"I could get it working for a short while, but it would mean that we would not be able to enter hyperspace for at least an extra four days-"

That was when an explosion rumbled through the air from far away.

The six Jaffa on the bridge stopped, turning to look in the general direction of the sound. "Another offensive? Callan, go lead a squad of your most trusted warriors to crush them," Laighe said to a valued Jaffa under him.

Callan and his squad of six Jaffa were just closing in on where they thought the battle was occurring when the first group of Coordinators in full blitzkrieg mode, something these Jaffa had _never_ seen. Three of the Jaffa, with Callan among them, were cut down even before they could get their staff weapons up.

The ZAFT standard machine gun was a scaled up and heavier version of a very tried and true sub-machine gun. With the super-human reflexes and stronger muscles that go with their 'Coordination' they were terribly, terribly effective at such short ranges.

Two more Jaffa fell, even as the last two made it to cover. Just in time for a pair of heavy fragmentation grenades bounced off the wall behind the corner they were hiding behind.

This dreadful level of carnage was repeating. The ZAFT soldiers were using up ammunition at a dreadful rate, but they did have an entire battleship's worth to use up if needed.

And Captain Talia Gladys had ordered every squad to include a heavy weapon.

Four hours later, Deputy Captain Arthur Trine saluted to her as she stepped aboard the Ha'tak. "Captain, I would like to inform you that we have finished capturing the ship. The enemy fought to the last. We only have a few prisoners."

"Very good, Arthur. The Supreme Chairmen is very pleased. This will be a very great salvage for the PLANTS."

Flay knocked on the simple gray door.

"Just a moment," the male voice from the other side called out. After that 'moment', Athrun Zala opened the door to his officer's quarters deep inside BULLWARK 1. "Ensign Allster?" He was rubbing his sleep-tired eyes while he only had a pair of sweatpants on.

"Um, I just wanted to make sure you were ready. Have you seen- Oh, um, never mind." Flay coughed uncomfortably. "Representative Attha, the morning's meeting with Colonel O'Neil was moved up and will be in just an hour."

Cagalli glared from the bunk, but nodded even as she tried to fight her blush. "Thank you, Flay. We'll be there."

The young red-head saluted and then turned and walked down the corridor, then around a corner to another barracks, passing by some unobtrusively stationed soldiers. Knocking, she awaited for the Coordinator to open his door. "Pilot Za Burrel? The meeting this morning got moved up and will be starting in just fifty-five minutes."

"Could you track down Shinn Asuka? I think he headed to your gun range or to where they are doing repair work on his Impulse. He needs to be there." Even if he had to sit on the anger-prone pilot.

"Of course, sir." Flay saluted yet again and headed down the hallway. In passing another red-head, she stopped for just a second to let Luminaria Hawke about the change.

Down another set of corridors (with more guards posted) she ended up at a third door. Knocking the door, she was not surprised when Captain Neo Roanoke answered fully ready with his strange mask already in place.

"Yes?" he asked curtly.

"Begging your pardon, sir, but the meeting this morning has been moved up to seven-hundred hours," she said as she saluted.

"Understood. Tell Colonel O'Neill that I'll be there shortly."

"Will any of your pilots be attending?" she asked.

"No. They are not in the chain of command, so it would be needless."

Flay's salute to depart was as crisp as she could make it. She did hide her confusion as she left. Why did Neo sound so familiar? She shook her head as she waved to the very morose Extended pilot Stellar as she walked by her. Realizing she was starting to run out of time, she called down to the repair bay of the base and had the petty officer of the watch page for Shinn Asuka.

In just a minute, Shinn came on the line. "What?" he snapped out.

She could almost see his angry red eyes. "Pilot La Burrel told me to inform you of the meeting change this morning."

"Fine." He took the information quite easily. "Is the pilot of Freedom going to be there?"

"No. He is still... grieving."

"The weakling." Shinn slammed the phone down on her ear.

Flay clutched the wall phone tightly, starting to go over ways to get some payback on the jerk. Finally hanging up, she continued down yet another grim, gray corridor of concrete and conduits as she headed back to the same area to the final stop on her morning 'gophering'. Which would just happen to end up near Kira's room.

"Captain Ramius? I know this is short notice, but this morning's meeting was moved up to oh-eight-hundred."

"I expected as much from my last conversation with Colonel O'Neill," the captain said as she settled her uniform cap squarely on her head. "Will you be there, Ensign?"

"Not that I'm aware of, Ma'am. Only the three new groups that are going to be integrating with Stargate Forces. I'm almost off duty. It's been a very long night."

"Sounds like you were doing paperwork in preparation for the meeting," Murrue said with a smile. "Well, I will see you. I was just heading down to the cafeteria for a quick bite before the meeting."

She saluted and let Murrue pass her, then turned and knocked on a final door. "Kira?"

She heard a muffled noise and took that as leave to enter the darkened quarters, closing the door behind her. While it was an officer's room, it was still quite small. Barely large enough for a small desk and the drop down bed. It was actually smaller than his older quarters on the Archangel, though it had the advantage of only having one bunk.

"Kira?"

"Flay?" the coordinator asked in a confused, muffled tone. "Oh, sorry."

"There's nothing to be sorry about. I'm just checking up on you." She sat on the side of his cramped bed and then ran her fingers through his sweat-soaked hair. "More nightmares?"

"Yeah."

"Would you like me to stay a while and talk?"

He nodded. "It helps." Kira then carefully took her hand off his forehead, but did not let go of it. "I just seem to lose everyone I love. Although, I have to admit that it is nice to have you back."

"It's nice to be back. And it does get better. The nightmares I mean. I had them a lot after I was revived." She tried to smile, but it was pretty weak.

"I failed you. And Lacus," Kira said.

"You did everything you could, Kira. No one can protect everyone perfectly. The fact that you care enough to try shows how good of a person you really are." Not like herself, who was so weak and petty.

The young coordinator sat up so that his bare chest was visible. "There had to be something I could have done. Taken out La Creuset first before he was assigned that monster."

"Oh, Kira." Flay did something she had promised she would not do. She hugged him so tightly it was almost painful. "It's okay to cry."

And he did cry, but not for very long. He became aware that he was half-naked and hugging Flay so ever tightly. As they pulled apart slightly, they stared into each others eyes. Amethyst eyes stared into cerulean blue. Then they kissed.

Colonel Sammie Carter nodded to the different technicians. "We are using the original device, correct? Just hooked up to the computer system for validation?"

"That's right, ma'am. It's still a long way from completely understood, but we can get an amazing amount of data out of it."

She nodded. "Load Miss Clyne into the sarcophagus and prepare to revivify her." This should be interesting, considering this was the first time they were using the device on a Coordinator.

The control room was overlooking the thirty foot square isolation room with the denuded Goa'uld device in the middle of it. Two medical technicians loaded the visibly dead body into the device. She looked so pale and broken with the nasty gouge in her side.

But she had been carefully preserved by the Earth Alliance doctors.

The device lit up, strange indicators and symbols appearing on the white-gray metal.

"We have activation and scanning. Hmm. Looks like it is putting her into stasis. I haven't seen these codes before."

Sammie leaned over the tech's shoulder to look at the flat panels. "Genetic degradation?"

"It can see their fertility issues? That's amazing. Looks like it is offering several options to repair it."

"Take the most conservative repair option," the colonel ordered. Then she considered things. "And do a full genetic map here. This could be a big bargaining point with the PLANTS."

"Yes, ma'am!"

Sammie nodded then turned and walked out. In just a few minutes, she was entering the conference room where the different crews and pilots were seating themselves. "Thank you all for your promptness." She moved to the front of the room where a podium had been set up.

"Colonel, how are the repairs on the _Archangel_ proceeding?" Murrue asked.

"We are looking at eleven months. I have been directed though to offer a possible inducement to join Stargate Forces." Sammie's eyes watched her closely. She almost stomped on the toes of her 2iC Diana Hills when she just barely held back her own view, which was quite unfavorable.

"Oh?" she replied carefully.

"We have a follow on Seraphim-class that will be available within six months. It is a very similar carrier, but much more powerful. But to do so, you will have to join Stargate Forces."

"I will not be bribed," Murrue said hotly.

"While it is an inducement, that is not even the primary purpose. You are a very able and trained captain. The protege of Admiral Haliburton and battle-tested. We need the best captains we can get, especially after just losing an entire fleet." Sammie gave her a very stern look. "We need someone that is willing to make the hard choice and not buckle under the strain."

"I am not a member of any nation's military at this point."

"That is a tricky point, but I think we can see about reinstating you in the Earth Alliance or Orb." Sammie then turned to Roanoke. "Captain, you and your pilots are hereby transferred from the 108th Autonomous to form a new Stargate Force group on command of General Stafford."

"That could be problematic, colonel." Including the fact that his pilots needed to be adjusted to stay alive. They were already starting to show signs of unraveling.

"Then solve that problem. This is a direct order from the Joint Chiefs."

Roanoke managed to not quite wince, but nodded. "Yes, ma'am."

Then O'Neill turned to the Coordinators of ZAFT. "Our nations are in negotiation to have ZAFT run joint operations as part of Stargate Forces. Your group would be their first. I'm not going to pussy-foot around. We are going to have a lot of antipathy to overcome on both sides here, but we are in a fight for survival here."

Rey Za Burrel nodded. "I understand, but I don't see why our pilots are being trained to go through the Stargate."

"Stargate travel will have to play a major part of our tactics. We don't have even one hyper capable unit yet and she is likely going to be tied down to the Solar System for defense. Yet we can not stop our hit and run attacks through the gate." Her cold eyes looked at the blond coordinator, then turned to look at Shinn and Luminaria. "We have some technologies that the enemy does not have, but their technology is generally far more advanced. Our only real advantage is they do not have mobilesuits yet. That is it. And your Impulse can fit through the Stargate with a little work."

"Are you just planning on rolling over and baring your belly, Colonel?" Shinn said with a sneer.

"No, I fully intend on prosecuting this conflict to a successful conclusion." Then Sammie turned to Cagalli. "You, Miss Athha, are a thorny mess. Orb wants you back. They are claiming that you've been brainwashed and they wish to rehabilitate you."

"Damn those Seirans!" Cagalli almost shouted as she slammed down the palm of her hand on the large conference table. "

"We offered to _quietly_ have you undergo a psych evaluation here at BULLWARK 1. And then release the results publicly." Sammie had a hard smile on her face that gave Mica Jackson a very bad feeling. Ry'lac just raised an eyebrow, mirrored by Neo Roanoke. "Strangely, they suddenly weren't so worried about the evaluation."

"If I end up back in Orb, they'll just throw me into an institution, won't they?" the young noble asked.

"Most likely. You not being effective in Orb has allowed them to solidify their power base," Athrun said softly.

"I can't say, but we think you would be effective here at Stargate, as one of our political attachés. You have a lot of contacts and several countries are starting to put pressure on the Seirans."

Cagalli nodded carefully.

"Here's the organization chart we are working on. Zala, we want you leading SGF-15. We have one junior officer, but she experienced and knows the system. Neo, we are creating a new SGF-108, just so you can keep your numbers."

Talia stood on the bridge of the Minerva as the PLANTS hove into sight finally. Nazca class cruisers were in position as escorts while the massive ships that were jumbled together were carefully slipped into a dry-dock.

"Stand down engines," she ordered.

"Standing down engines," the pilot agreed, even though it was a fiction. The Minerva would never move under its own power again.

"All crew, prepare to debark," the captain called out over the overheads.

The crew started to float down the corridors to the docking collars. This is where they ran into their first surprise. ZAFT and Earth Alliance soldiers with weapons.

"Single file, one at a time. Johnston, your squad covers the main group while Toma's group covers the inspection team," a tough-bitten looking EA major shouted.

It didn't take long, but each person was scanned for Goa'uld parasites. Even Captain Gladys was scanned, though she showed no surprise.

Beyond the concourse, Gilbert Durandel floated up to her. "Captain. I would like to congratulate you for a job well down. The PLANTS are in your debt. We have technical teams that are going to start taking apart this Ha'tak as quickly as possible."

"Yes, sir. I'm afraid my ship is probably a write-off." A small part of her soul blackened from that pronouncement.

"There will be other ships. As a matter of fact, we will be upgrading the follow up of the Minerva class with the technology advances that our allies and this captured vessel provide."

"Yes, sir."

"So this is Cimmeria," Athrun mused aloud as SGF-15 and SFG-108 stepped through the Stargate.

"Are you always so prone to stating the obvious?" Shinn Asuka asked in a snide tone even as he attached the re-dial device under the pedestal.

Neo Roanoke smiled grimly, even as Stellar looked around in wonder.

"This is really another world?" she asked in wonder.

"Spread out and see if their are any native towns," Athrun ordered.

"What's that thing?" Auel asked, pointing at a shattered monolith that had been right next to the Stargate.

"That used to defend the people of this world," a male voice called out. "You are strangers to this land. And you have the look of the Tauri that I've heard fight against the Goa'uld."

"And who are you?" Neo asked as machine guns were pointed in his direction.

"Just a visitor that wanted to see what was left of this protected planet. But the Asgard are long gone and the people they protected enslaved and moved to other worlds." The older looking man smiled. "You may call me Johann, if you wish."

"The Asgard?"

"Powerful aliens from very far away, but no one has seen them in ages." The old man shrugged. "I thought that maybe some of their technology might have survived."

"Well, that's basically what we are here for too." Athrun's eyes were narrowed in thought. "So you use the Stargate freely?"

"No, you do have to be a bit careful in using it. The Goa'uld are quite... jealous of their prerogatives." Johann had a tight smile under his shock of white hair.

"Then you won't mind us scanning you to make sure you are not a Goa'uld?" Neo said while keeping his masked eyes on the Stargate traveler.

"That... could be a problem." Johann suddenly looked very nervous.

"Why?" Shinn demanded before Rey or Athrun could asked. Auel, Sting, Stellar and Luminaria kept their weapons trained on the man.

"Because I doubt your 'sensors' can tell you that I am not a Goa'uld. Because there is no physical difference between us and them." Johann seemed amused by their reaction.

"A rebel faction." Athrun's green eyes widened at that. "We had heard rumors about a Jaffa uprising. But a Goa'uld uprising?"

"Some of us despise the taking of slaves and subjugating humans." His eyes glowed. "I am Jolinar, at your service. My host is Johann."

"Damn that's creepy," Sting said.

Luminaria just rolled her eyes. "We have to take him prisoner, don't we?"

"That is what standard operating procedure says to do," Neo noted.

"They are right, but I think we can forgo handcuffs if you promise to behave," Athrun decided. "Neo, fire up the Stargate and let General Stafford know what we have found."

The blond ONMI offider was only starting to move to the platform when the gate started to activate.

Everyone stared at it for a long time as the second chevron slammed home.

"Treeline, double time! Move it people!" Athrun suddenly shouted. "Keep in front of us." His machine-gun emphasized the point to Jolinar.

The eight of them barely made the treeline before the stargate activated and Jaffa started to troop out.

"Your friends, Goa'uld?" Neo demanded in a harsh whisper.

"No, they are probably here to kill me. They probably don't even know you are here."

Athrun shared a look with Neo, then nodded. "We'll pull back from the Stargate. We are supposed to have our first check-in in two hours. When we don't, they'll dial in and we can look at reinforcements."

"We can take them now. There's only thirty of them." Shinn looked quite happy at taking on better than three-to-one odds.

"Not decisively. Someone could get killed or badly injured." Neo hated to admit it, but Athrun was quite correct.

"Please state your name," Diana Hill asked. She was sitting across a plain metal table from the young woman wearing a hospital gown.

"Lacus Clyne," the young coordinator said politely. "May I ask, where am I?"

"You can, but I can't answer that." The young mobilesuit pilot tensed up slightly, but continued none the less. "Unfortunately, Miss Clyne, you are considered dead."

"So this is a kidnapping?" Lacus asked simply.

"Actually, no. While we will need information about the PLANTS, we have no desire to keep you prisoner over the long term."

"But keeping someone against their will is illegal," the pink-haired coordinator noted.

"We are actually keeping you for medical evaluation after resuscitating you."

"Resuscitating? I died?" Her blue eyes were wide open in shock. She did not feel hurt at all. In fact, she felt... more sensitive was the best word she could use to describe what she was feeling.

"Yes, you were declared Killed in Action against the alien invader five days ago and kept in stasis. Yesterday, we used an advanced alien device to attempt to revive you. So for four days, you were dead. I'm sure the doctors will want to go over some things. The Sarcophagus may have corrected some genetic problems you had too." Hill leaned back slightly. "We would like you to answer some questions on the PLANTS and your own organization. Its name is Terminal, correct?"

"That is correct. We are an independent organization that looks to promote peace between Earth and the PLANTS."

"Yet you have your own battleships and mobilesuit designs. That does not sound like the actions of a peaceful political organization," Diana noted.

"We sprung from the Three Ship Alliance to fight the xenocidal faction within the PLANTS and ZAFT. Our duty is too grave to depend on words. Earth is too fragile."

Diana Hill nodded. "Well, we at least agree on that. Stargate Forces is mandated with protecting Earth from external threats. While the PLANTS are technically external, they fall under an older paradigm. What we are here to do is protect Earth against alien incursions and aggression."

"That sounds noble. So I wonder why you kidnapped me?"

"We are merely having private, negotiations with the highest level Terminal representative that we could find. Because we _need_ the moderates within the PLANTS."

On the other side of a one-way mirror, Mica Jackson and Rya'c watched the proceedings in interest.

"And you could not just ask, of course." Lacus made a gesture towards Hill's impeccably kept Atlantic Federation dress whites. "The Earth Alliance would have been trying to kill me just as much as Durandal's ZAFT forces."

"We are not that monolithic, Miss Clyne. And while I can't say I'm a huge fan of genetically modifying ourselves like Coordinators do, I'm not a bigot about it." Her blue eyes were hooded by her deep-auburn bangs.

"I wish that more people of Earth were like you," she said simply. "So what do you want of me?"

"We want you to seriously consider a closer relationship with Stargate Forces." Diana held up her hand. "We aren't going to go into specifics here and now-"

"Yes. That seems fair."

"Uh, don't you have to talk to some of your people?" the Atlantic Federation captain asked in mild surprise.

"We were the Clyne Faction originally. I believe they will follow me."

"Well... in that case, how about I let you go visit your boy-toy?"

"What?"

"Kira Yamato? Your boyfriend?"

"Right!" she replied brightly. "But could I get some nicer clothing?"

"Certainly. This was supposed to just be a quick after-medical briefing."

Ten minutes later, Lacus was dressed in a simple sun-dress and riding an elevator to the upper levels of BULLWARK 1. The fast elevator seemed to travel for forever, but finally opened up. Captain Hill, Mr. Jackson and Rya'c led her down the hallway.

"So you were born on another world under a different star?" Lacus was asking.

"Yes, but my grandfather was from Earth," Micah explained.

Rya'c opened the door while listening stoically.

"Oh, god," Ensign Flay Allster exclaimed as she saw the young woman behind Captain Hill. When had Lacus been revived?

"Lacus? But they said you were-" Kira started to call out, then his eyes flashed over to Flay. Suddenly, that did not matter as he threw himself out of his chair to hug Lacus oh so tightly. "Never mind."

"Kira!" Lacus said happily as she hugged him back.

Diana stared in mute horror as the ensign stood up while trying hold back her tears. "Please excuse me for a moment." She almost ran to the door before the tears started to escape her eyes.

The four Jaffa left to guard the Stargate were fairly alert, but were still surprised when the Stargate rumbled to life. It sat placidly, the water curtain mesmerizing then shut off without any visible trans-location.

Off in the distance in the rugged hills, Athrun swore as the radio signal cut off. "They aren't going to send reinforcements for a day?"

"They don't want to let the Goa'uld know that we are here. They're trying to be cagey. And we can hack it," Rey said smoothly. And there was no proof of any tangible technology to claim either.

"Roanoke to Zala. We've found something," the Coordinator said over the radio at the entrance to a cave.

"Go on, Neo." Athrun was already finding the older officer to be unnerving.

"It's some advanced technology, but it is not Goa'uld. At least as far as we can tell." They were in a cave they had found. Neo looked over to Luminaria and Shinn, who both shrugged. They had all had the same basic familiarization package. "I don't know how important it is. It's just a hologram of a Norse god."

"And the Goa'uld are mostly Egyptian gods," Shinn thought aloud.

Neo thought about that for a second. "Exactly."

Athrun and Rey turned to the old man.

"Don't ask me. Any of us that used to come here were always dealt with harshly. It is only know that the Asgard are gone that this world is even slightly safe to visit." The simple looking man shrugged.

"Who were the Asgard?" Athrun asked.

"To the Goa'uld, they were an ancient race that protected certain primitive planets and interfered with their taking of slaves. But that all changed decades ago. A minor Goa'uld was tasked with causing a territorial violation... and didn't get his Ha'tak blown out from beneath him. He destroyed the device that protected the Stargate from any Goa'uld entering the world and then led his own armies through and took many prisoners."

"So you came here to scavenge technology?" Rey asked, his eyes gleaming in the shadows.

"I think that's why you are here. I'm avoiding a Goa'uld known as Mot who seeks to capture me for his lord." Jolinar shrugged.

"Rebel Goa'uld. We had not heard anything of you in our reports," the young Coordinator said carefully.

"We are mostly spies. We have no armies and we do not take 'worshipers'."

"And Johann is free to leave at any time?"

"Johann, being myself, can speak for himself, Athrun Zala. Jolinar and I are... blended. Jolinar is the senior partner, because he has so much greater knowledge, but I've saved our bacon quite a few times," the human part of the Goa'uld said.

"And what do you get out of it?" Rey asked with a sly smile.

"I get to live centuries longer than I would have," Johann explained simply. "He also cures me of almost any ailments and illnesses."

"Now that is an inducement," the lead pilot of the ZAFT asked curiously. His eyes were almost glittering in sudden thought.

Jolinar just laughed lightly.

"Let's go take a look at this cave," Athrun decided. He turned to Auel and Sting. "You two will be on perimeter watch while we are inside. I don't want to be trapped inside."

"What about Stellar?" the young girl asked of herself.

"You are coming with us. I don't think you have the personality of a guard," Athrun said blandly.

"Do I get to see Shinn again?" Stellar asked hopefully.

Green eyes turned to the other Coordinator who just shrugged. "Sure."

The young Extended started capering down the path in an almost-dance, laughing lightly.

Athrun could only shake his head. And he thought he had a strange bunch on the _Archangel_.


End file.
